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PORTRAIT OF 


THE AUTHOR 









FASTING 

fo r Health 

A Complete Guide on How, 
When and Why to Use 
the Fasting Cure 

BY 

BERNARR MACFADDEN 

?% 

Author of "Macfadden’s Encyclopedia of Physical Cul 
ture,” "Eating for Health and Strength," "Strength¬ 
ening the Eyes/' "Hair Culture," "Manhood and 
Marriage" and other works on Health and Sex. 



NEW YORK 

MACFADDEN PUBLICATIONS, Inc. 
1923 





» * v w 


COPYEIGHT 1923 

By MACFADDEN PUBLICATIONS, Inc. 
New York City 

In the United States and Great Britain 



JUL13 ’23 


Printed 
in U. S. A. 


©Cl A7 52331 




PREFACE 


TOASTING is the most powerful of all 
remedial measures. 

It is an entirely natural method of renovat¬ 
ing the body. 

And it is as old as the human race. 

Doctors will tell you that diseases begin in 
the stomach—a definite admission from them 
that disease is absorbed from the alimentary 
canal, of which the stomach is an important 
unit. And it is poisons—absorbed by the di¬ 
gestive system—which cause disease. How 
then, are we to rid the system of the foreign 
elements, toxins, poisons? Fasting solves this 
problem! 

When the civilized world is made familiar 
with the information presented in this book 
nine-tenths of the doctoring and attendant 
dosing, operating, and untold misery, will be 
avoided. Fasting has accomplished, and will 
continue to accomplish wonders. 

In this work the entire subject is presented 
in a new and understandable form, with a 


Preface 


thorough review 1 of the startling history of 
scientific research into Nature’s own cure— 
fasting. Each step of the fast from its incep¬ 
tion to breaking, and care to be taken of the 
body following the fast, are fully and carefully 
explained. It is a compendium that none who 
contemplate fast cures should fail to read care¬ 
fully. In these pages will be found the in¬ 
dividual advice your own case requires. 

More than forty years have elapsed since 
the author’s interest was first aroused in fast¬ 
ing. The first occasion I seriously used it was 
when I fell victim to pneumonia. 

Exercise was a “cure-all” for me at that 
time. I depended mostly upon a large amount 
of physical effort — walking, running and 
gymnasium work—when physical difficulties 
appeared, though I might moderate my diet 
somewhat. 

And so it was, on noting symptoms con¬ 
nected with this attack of pneumonia, I tried to 
exercise them away. I was able, to a certain 
extent, to arrest the development of the dis¬ 
ease, but dangerous and painful symptoms still 
remained. 

I had no faith in medical methods, and it 


VI 



Preface 


i 

was then I decided to give previous conclu¬ 
sions of fasting, arrived at after some very 
interesting studies and investigations, a fair 
trial. The result was astonishing. 

I noted a slight improvement after the first 
day. A greater improvement the second, and 
on the fifth day every symptom of pneumonia 
had disappeared. This was the first practical 
example in my own experiences of the ex¬ 
traordinary value of fasting in the cure of 
acute disease. 

One of the first factors definitely influencing 
me in favor of fasting was my observations of 
animal life. Every animal, when sick, will 
refuse to eat. It loses appetite. Food has no 
attraction for it. It fasts until it is well—a 
sure cure governed by its instincts. 

We, the superior animals, have tried to re¬ 
place our instinct with intelligence. Frequent¬ 
ly, it will be admitted, our intelligence and the 
intelligence of our advisers have proven de¬ 
fective, and often we endure serious penalties 
for our applied false reasoning. 

Since my first experiment I have personally 
fasted on numerous occasions, and long since 
it has ceased to he a novelty or experiment., 
vii 



Preface 


Thousands of cases have been observed since 
I first became interested. During a period of 
several years my time was occupied in the 
sanitarium business, and hundreds of fasting 
cases were under my direct supervision. Fasts 
ranging from one to ninety days were con¬ 
ducted, and in nearly every case benefits re¬ 
sulted. I know of no case in which the rules 
were carefully observed that harmful results 
were recorded. 

In the case of the ninety-day fast there was 
a weight reduction of seventy-five pounds. 
The faster weighed three hundred pounds when 
he began, and two hundred and twenty-five, 
pounds when he finished his fast. 

It is important to remember, in considera¬ 
tion of this subject, that one should be able 
to see physical danger far ahead on the road 
of life; and that while fasting is of value as a 
means of remedying and curing acute and 
chronic ailments it is of still greater value as 
a means of avoiding disease. I still fast—on 
an average of thirty to forty days every year. 
These fasts range in duration from one to ten 
or twelve days. If I were more careful in my 
eating doubtless I could avoid the necessity of 

viii 



Preface 


such a strict regime; but when eating in ac¬ 
cordance with civilized customs and social ob¬ 
servances it is difficult to restrict one’s appetite 
and fasting is absolutely necessary if occa¬ 
sional illnesses are to be avoided. 

There is a popular but wholly erroneous idea 
that the faster grows gradually weaker. This 
is far from the fact. In most instances, for 
a time, the faster actually becomes stronger. 

I have used feats of strength to impress my 
audiences with the advantages of physical cul¬ 
ture during many lecture and exhibition tours. 
One of these was “chinning” myself with one 
finger of either hand. On several occasions 
when I was scheduled to lecture, after having 
been busy with other activities for a consider¬ 
able period, I would discover that I was un¬ 
able to perform this feat of strength. After 
a two or three day fast I could easily perform 
it. Many athletes have registered similar con¬ 
clusions after experiences of this nature. 

The most profitable fast I ever took was 
recorded in Physical Culture Magazine nearly 
twenty-five years ago. I had over-worked 
my eyes to such an extent that I was nearly 
blind. I stopped work entirely. After a vaca- 


IX 



Preface 


tion my impaired eyesight showed a slight im¬ 
provement. I was not satisfied, however, it 
may readily be understood, and concluded to 
take a seven day fast—absolute in every detail 
excepting water. As I intended to make use 
of this fast for editorial purposes for the bene¬ 
fit of others, I watched and recorded the symp¬ 
toms associated therewith closely. 

At that time I, too, had the impression that 
one’s strength greatly decreased while fasting. 
I determined to try to raise a fifty-pound 
dumbbell over my head at the conclusion of 
the fast, for the purpose, bear in mind, of 
proving strength is not seriously impaired by 
fasting. Now read what happened— 

I went to the gymnasium every day and 
exercised for half an hour or an hour, and fin¬ 
ished the exercise period by testing my strength 
with heavy dumbbells. 

On the fourth day of my fast hunger both¬ 
ered me so seriously that I went out of my 
office with a definite determination to eat a 
square meal in the nearest restaurant I could 
find. After a few minutes in the open air I 
gained control of my hunger, and decided to 
go to the gymnasium and take my exercises. 



Preface 


At the conclusion of this exercise my appetite 
had disappeared! 

This result will astound the average individ¬ 
ual, but it will often be noticed during a fast 
that you need very badly. Exercise, instead 
of increasing your appetite while fasting, will 
eliminate it. Exercise tends to bring about 
normal conditions, and when normal conditions 
mean “no appetite” the appetite will disap¬ 
pear. 

As previously stated, I tested my strength 
each day during this fast and on the sixth day 
I found my strength had decreased very little, 
if any, and I was able to raise—not a fifty 
pound, but a hundred pound dumbbell over my 
head with one hand. But that is not all. 
Photographers were on hand to take my photo¬ 
graph as I raised this one hundred pound 
dumbbell on the seventh day at the end of my 
fast. The photographers were over-anxious 
and it was necessary for me to lift this heavy 
dumbbell several times to give them oppor¬ 
tunity to secure dependable photographs. 

And not to forget the original purpose of 
this fast—there was & remarkable improvement 
in the strength of my eyes. And this despite 

xi 



Preface 


the dire predictions of optometrists and the 
damaging effect of editorial activity on the 
eyes. At the age of fifty-five my eyes are still 
strong. And I have never worn glasses! 

I am presenting these personal experiences 
to prove that I “take my own medicine.” And 
I have been taking it for more than forty years. 
I owe my unusual health and strength, main¬ 
tained throughout this period, largely to my 
knowledge of fasting. 

During my business activities in the last 
twenty-five years I cannot recall a single day’s 
absence due to illness. This is all due to my 
ability to look ahead—to avoid disease by 
cleansing the body with fasting. I exercise, 
diet, use hydrotherapy and various other 
measures, but fasting is the most valuable of 
all these remedial measures. 

No effort has been spared to make this book 
complete in every detail. Many medical and 
editorial writers have aided in its preparation, 
and it is sent forth with the hope that it will 
add to the health and life of every reader. 



xii 



CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

Preface . 

PAGE 

V 

I 

What Is Fasting?. 

1 

II 

The History of the Fasting Idea . 

23 

III 

Effects of Fasting on the Body . 

30 

IV 

When to and When Not to Fast . 

61 

V 

Symptoms, Mishaps and Emergencies 

73 

VI 

How Long to Fast—Long and Short 
Fasts and the Partial Fast . 

107 

VII 


122 

VIII 

How to Break the Fast .... 

151 

IX 

Building Health After the Fast . 

175 

X 

Fasting Cases and Experiences . . 

191 


xm 























































































FASTING FOR HEALTH 


Chapter I 

What is Fasting? 

TOASTING, as defined and defended in this 
book, is a scientific method of curing dis¬ 
ease, by causing the patient to abstain—for a 
longer or shorter period of time, as the case 
may be —from all solid and liquid food, with 
the single exception of water, which should 
always be allowed. It is a therapeutic meas¬ 
ure, a curative agent, and is quite a different 
thing from starvation — which deprives the 
bodily tissues of nutriment which they require. 
The difference between these two states (fast¬ 
ing and starvation) is very important to under¬ 
stand, and I shall take occasion, several times 
in this book, to point out and emphasize the 
distinction between them. 

In order that the patient (or student) may 
understand the fundamentals of this method 


l 


Fasting for Health 


of treatment, it must be explained just why 
fasting may be expected to cure certain dis¬ 
eases ; and, further, precisely what disease is— 
for unless the true nature of disease be under¬ 
stood, the value of the fasting cure cannot be 
appreciated nor understood. 

The common idea of disease is that it is 
something which can be “caught,” which “at¬ 
tacks” a patient, and which has to be “ex¬ 
pelled,” as though it were an entity or a thing 
in itself. Generally speaking, disease is not a 
thing at all; it is a condition . There is a cause 
for every disease, manifested in a variety of 
“symptoms.” These symptoms are too often 
mistaken for the disease itself. We are apt to 
think of the complex of symptoms as the dis¬ 
ease, whereas they are only its outward mani¬ 
festations. They are the expressions of the 
inner thing or condition, and “curing,” sup¬ 
pressing, or removing them will not cure the 
disease, their cause . Such a method merely 
removes or masks effects. What we must do 
is to discover and remove the cause; and when 
that is done the symptoms will disappear of 
themselves. 

Food, when taken into the body, replaces 
2 



What is Fasting? 


broken-down tissue, maintains bodily heat, and 
according to accepted teachings, maintains to 
a great extent the vital energies of the body. 
There should be a justly balanced proportion 
between the income and the outgo of our food 
supply—this being determined by the amount 
of food eaten, on the one hand, and the amount 
of exercise and general activity on the other. 
The more activity, the greater is the amount 
of food required, and vice versa. Most of us 
know this. 

Few realize, however, that we are in the 
habit of eating far more food than is necessary 
to maintain the body in a state of health, and 
to replenish those tissues which have been 
broken down as a result of the body’s activ¬ 
ities. It is true that the body can transform 
and get rid of, without great injury, a con¬ 
siderable amount of food over the quantity 
which we really need; but this by no means 
proves that the extra food is necessary; and 
common observation shows us that a far less 
quantity of food is actually required by the 
body, to maintain it in a state of physiological 
balance and proper health. 

In all disease conditions particularly, nature 
3 



Fasting for Health 


clearly indicates that food is not required, since 
the appetite is lost and an aversion to food is 
noted—amounting in some cases to actual 
loathing of the thought of food. This means 
that nature has seen to it that the instincts of 
the body are right, and many observations have 
shown that food eaten at such times does not 
nourish nor maintain bodily energies at a higher 
pitch; but, on the contrary, tends to lower them 
and actually feeds and prolongs disease! And 
the more food that is eaten, the more the dis¬ 
ease is fed, while the patient may actually con¬ 
tinue to waste away and lose flesh and strength, 
in spite of the quantity of food eaten—or really 
on account of it! 

A useful picture to keep in mind is that of a 
sponge which, when it is squeezed out, is cap¬ 
able of absorbing a certain quantity of water 
in which it is immersed. If, on the other hand, 
the sponge is already full of water, it will not 
soak up any more and the excess simply drips 
away when the sponge is lifted out of the 
water. 

The body may be compared to the sponge, 
and the food supplied to it may be compared 
to the water. If the body is wnJer-nourished 
4 



What is Fasting? 


for a certain length of time, it will greedily 
absorb any nutriment which may be floating 
about in the fluids within it. If, however, there 
is constantly present within the body an excess 
quantity of easily assimilated material from 
the food eaten, the body will absorb but a cer¬ 
tain amount and consequently the excess is not 
utilized nor properly eliminated. 

There is invariably a certain bodily cause, 
then, behind these symptoms with the symp¬ 
toms appearing merely as the outward evi¬ 
dences of things unseen. Further, these symp¬ 
toms are, in the majority of cases, purely prog¬ 
nostic of a curative effort on the part of Nature 
to rid the physical system of impurities. The 
symptoms—the “disease,” as we commonly 
call it—are themselves the curative processes 
in actual operation. In other words, disease is 
a ■process of cure! 

This conception as to the nature of disease 
is an entirely new one to the average person. 
"When he is told that disease is itself a curative 
process, he can hardly believe it—and too fre¬ 
quently will not believe it; yet it is a fact! 
Disease is a process of purification! It is a 
remedial action! ft is a vital struggle to over- 



Fasting for Health 


come obstructions and to keep the channels of 
circulation (of body fluids) free. It expels 
through the skin and by way of the kidneys, 
bowels, liver and lungs, the accumulated effete 
material as fast as it can, and if these organs 
and channels become choked and blocked, then 
trouble results! We note a set of pathological 
symptoms, which we term “disease.” As a 
matter of fact, they are the benevolent en¬ 
deavors on the part of Nature to right a wrong 
—and what we term the disease is the process 
of cure taking place before our eyes. 

Nearly all diseases, then, are remedial and 
curative. 

In the same way that a broken bone is healed 
by the curative powers of Nature, so also are 
other diseases cured. In the case of the broken 
bone, all we can do is to “set” it, and Nature 
will do the rest. And that same Power which 
heals the broken bone will also heal a cold in 
the head, or diabetes, or rheumatism, or any 
other diseased state, if given a chance to do so , 
—if Nature is helped instead of hindered in 
her restorative efforts. 

There is a fundamental unity and oneness of 
disease. Broadly speaking, disease is one — 

6 



What is Fasting? 


it is one fundamentally, but with different 
phases or manifestations. The effete, poison¬ 
ous material within the body is the real cause 
of disease, regardless of its outward appear¬ 
ance or showing;- the various methods of its 
elimination constitute the various so-called 
“diseases.” This basic, corrupt material—the 
real cause of the disease (which we do not 
name )—might thus be the same in nearly all 
cases; but, owing to the different processes of 
elimination, and the different symptoms which 
arise in consequence, it is mistaken for so many 
different diseases—with hundreds of names 
of great variety. 

It follows from all this that, except in rare 
instances, there is no such thing as a purely 
“local disease.” What we know as such is but 
the local betrayal of a general internal condi¬ 
tion. The blood and the nervous system unite 
the body into one whole; and, this being so, it 
is obvious that we should treat the body as a 
whole, and not only locally, if we desire to 
dislodge and cast out the real cause of the dis¬ 
turbance. This treatment consists of purify¬ 
ing the blood stream, restoring the organs to a 
normal state of functioning, and upbuilding 
7 




Fasting for Health 


the health generally. When this is done, the 
local manifestations of the general condition 
will vanish. 

Now, the speediest method of doing this is 
to eliminate what various poisons, toxins and 
impurities there may be in the body; and, in 
order to do so, the organs of elimination are 
encouraged to perform their duties more thor¬ 
oughly and more rapidly than they do habit¬ 
ually, and without interference. The skin, the 
liver, the kidneys, the bowels, the lungs,— 
these are urged to greater effort, in order to 
throw off the load of impurities within the 
body. At the same time, care is taken that no 
more matter is taken into the body which needs 
expulsion that is, no more food material is 
administered, for, in such cases, it constitutes 
further choking and blocking material. 

In time of disease food is no longer a sup¬ 
port , but, on the other hand, it is a positive 
danger, and when given at such times does not 
nourish the patient but poisons him. It is only 
when the body is functioning normally that 
food is utilized properly; and when the body is 
ill or diseased, food substance is not digested, 
but, as a poison, retards the progress of cure. 

8 




What is Fasting? 


Fasting is the only method by means of which 
the body is cleared of its corruption, inasmuch 
as fasting permits the effete material already 
contained to be disposed of, and at the same 
time allows no introduction of new material 
into the body. 

There is an instinct to fast when one is ill, 
and it is practically universal, for all animals 
share this instinct, and will actually refuse food 
at such times. Does not this prove to us that 
eating is prohibited by Nature—that our in¬ 
stinct is right, and that we should actually fast 
when indisposed? It is only our perverted in¬ 
stincts and false reasoning and erroneous med¬ 
ical teaching which prevent us from seeing this 
and acting upon it. 

The true nature of disease should thus be ap¬ 
parent. Since it is an effort of the body to 
throw off worn-out and discarded and mal- 
assimilated material, it should be aided and 
helped, rather than thwarted and perverted. 
Nature is the only curative agent—it is Nature 
alone which cures or which can cure, and we 
cannot force her—though we can protect, en¬ 
courage and aid her by giving her full author¬ 
ity! All curative, expulsive effort must come 



Fasting tor Health 


from within, and its effectiveness depends upon 
the amount of the patient’s vitality. It is the 
vis medicatrioc naturce which cures, and that 
alone. 

The function of the hygienic physician, 
therefoie, should be to dived this renovative 
and restorative effort, and not to prevent it. 
This direction can be effected by various 
hygienic measures such as water packs, com¬ 
presses, baths, etc.,—the circulation being bal¬ 
anced at the same time. Fasting, by relieving 
congestion in the internal organs—by drawing 
the blood away from these organs and allowing 
it to circulate more freely and readily through¬ 
out the periphery of the body—assists in bal¬ 
ancing the circulation, and restoring the nor¬ 
mal condition. 

There are, normally, but two ways in which 
impure material can enter the system; through 
the lungs, by breathing impure air, and 
through the stomach, in swallowing improper 
food and drink, or in taking too much of it. 
In no other way are impurities normally in¬ 
ti oduced into the system—(though it must not 
be forgotten that the administration of drugs 
constitutes a very frequent and general source 
10 




What is Fasting? 


of body pollution). From this it would seem 
that the obvious thing to do, to prevent this 
material from entering the body, would he, 
on the one hand, to breathe pure clean air, and, 
on the other, to fast. These measures, coupled 
with cleansing and purifying methods, will 
eliminate the cause of any diseased condition 
which may happen to be present (if there is 
not too great organic destruction), and thus 
effect the cure. 

The average mode of living—of gorging on 
several times the amount of food the system 
requires for all its numerous functions; of 
using stimulants which whip up fatigued or¬ 
gans to the point of exhaustion; of using foods 
and yielding to dissipations that consume and 
waste the energies of the body; of whipping 
into submission the organs which make any at¬ 
tempts to right conditions; of removing certain 
offending organs and structures which have 
carried the fight too far for the comfort of 
the patient, this removal placing added de¬ 
mands on some other organs; and of postpon¬ 
ing the adoption of any truly remedial meas¬ 
ures until some parts of the anatomy have 
become pathologic—this manner of living has 
11 




Fasting foh Health 


made it absolutely essential that there be rest 
of the body, if health is to be attained. 

And it must not be understood that sleep and 
mere muscular relaxation constitute complete 
rest. Sleep alone suffices for these external 
muscles; but how about the organs themselves 
—the organs that have been obliged to over¬ 
work day after day, month after month, and 
year after year? It is indisputable that they 
cannot be rested by being doped with depress¬ 
ants—by some drugs which merely reduce their 
functional activity—and especially so long as 
the mode of living is continued uninterrupt¬ 
edly. And it is equally certain that they cannot 
be rested if they are obliged to continue work 
throughout the hours of sleep and muscular 
relaxation, in order to “catch up” with their 
work and keep pace with the requirements 
demanded of them. 

It should be as simple as the a-b-c’s that 
what these organs and body structures and tis¬ 
sues require is rest an absolute rest such as 
can be secured only by the fast! Such a pro¬ 
cedure as a protracted fast gives them their 
one opportunity to disgorge the overwhelming 
excess food material to be relieved of the re- 
12 



What is Fasting? 


suiting congestion and to secure rest; to re¬ 
cuperate from their exhaustion from overwork 
and constant action and reaction in attempting 
to respond to every impulse and every influ¬ 
ence; for the cells of these structures to rid 
themselves of their dead and dying fellow-cells, 
(which add to their depression by the toxins 
produced, as well as increase their obligations), 
and to give a chance for new cells to take their 
places. Also, the brain and nervous system 
are rested, and the whole internal muscular, 
nervous, and glandular systems have a chance 
to recuperate. All this the fast accomplishes 
or allows. It is truly the most valuable kind 
of a recess or intermission for the best em¬ 
ployees you have—the cells and organs which 
take care of your nourishment and health con¬ 
stantly—as much as you will permit them to! 

It is a common experience that the brain be¬ 
comes more active and that thinking is facili¬ 
tated. Furthermore, if fasting were instituted 
at the very inception of an illness, and system¬ 
atically carried out, the “disease” would be 
rendered practically inert at once. 

The reasons for the fasting cure should thus 
be apparent. Fasting prevents the introduc- 
13 



Fasting for Health 


tion into the diseased body of any new material 
calling for excretion or elimination; it permits 
a balancing of the circulation—absolutely es¬ 
sential to good health; it allows the various 
eliminating organs to dispose of the effete 
material in the system, and to oxidize or burn 
up useless matter which has accumulated in the 
body, like ashes in a grate. Fasting purifies 
and cleanses the body, and at the same time, 
in effect, adds to its actual vital strength, by 
removing toxic material which is poisoning and 
weakening the nerves of the body and the cells 
of the various organs. In all these ways fast¬ 
ing benefits; and, as we shall see later on, it 
is probably the most powerful remedial agent 
known to any one. 

Just here is it necessary to reply to an ob¬ 
jection which will doubtless arise. One may 
ask: “That is all very well, but is it not harm¬ 
ful thus to absorb living tissues of the body, 
and lower the strength and resistance of the 
body in this manner? May we not injure the 
body by drawing upon it thus—allowing it to 
feed upon itself—instead of supplying it with 
the accustomed food?” 

That objection can be raised only by those 
14 



What is Fasting? 


who do not understand the actual processes 
at work, and the fact that, at such times, the 
hody does not draw upon its own valuable tis¬ 
sues for a long period of time, but rather upon 
the most useless material and waste, and only 
when these have been utilized and discarded 
are the more useful and vital tissues and or¬ 
gans drawn upon; and those essential to life 
are not drawn upon until the process has been 
extended beyond the therapeutic fast into 
starvation. 

When a fast is begun, the first things which 
are oxidized and eliminated by the body are 
those useless materials which are floating about 
within it in the form of mal-assimilated food 
material and the waste which is blocking and 
choking the small blood vessels and congesting 
the lymph vessels. In other words, the very 
things which we wish to eliminate from the 
system are those which Nature actually dis¬ 
poses of first of all—the very excess materials 
which are actually causing the diseased condi¬ 
tion! It is most important to bear in mind 
this fact, for it is upon the proper understand¬ 
ing of it that the whole fasting cure is based. 

After this material has been eliminated, the 
15 



Fasting for Health 


useless, fatty tissue of the body is next drawn 
upon, and this is very largely utilized for the 
bodily nutrition before any other tissues or 
organs are called upon. And it is a remark¬ 
able fact that even in cases of death from 
starvation (which of course is a very different 
thing from therapeutic fasting) the nerve 
centers are practically not drawn upon at all, 
so that they maintain their weight intact and 
their complete functional activity. 

The following table, giving the estimated 
losses that occur in cases of death from starva¬ 
tion, is taken from Yeo’s “Physiology,” and 
may be considered as fairly representative of 
the varying losses which occur at such times: 


Fat. 97% 

Muscle. 30% 

Fiver . 56% 

Spleen . 63% 

Blood. 17% 


Nerve Centers. 0% 

This table is most significant, inasmuch as it 
shows to us most conclusively that the least 
important tissues of the body are drawn upon 
first and in larger amounts when food is with¬ 
held, and the more important tissues later and 
16 









What is Fasting? 


to a less extent; and it shows us also that it 
is physiologically impossible to starve to death 
until a “skeleton condition” has been reached, 
—that is to say, a condition in which practically 
all the tissues of the body have been used for 
food material. Death is impossible before such 
a condition has been brought about. 

And it is very important again to point out 
just here for the sake of emphasis that fasting 
and starvation are two entirely different things. 
Whereas fasting is beneficial and rids the body 
of disease, starvation is detrimental and if 
continued long enough ends in death. The 
difference between these two processes is fun¬ 
damental, and the distinction between them 
should be carefully borne in mind when dis¬ 
cussing the fasting cure. Let us try to make 
plain precisely in what this distinction consists. 

When food is withheld, the body begins to 
live upon itself —oxidizing and eliminating, as 
before explained, the most useless materials 
first. Now, we are none of us in perfect health. 
Xf we were, we should be in perfect condition, 
and the mere fact that a long course of “train¬ 
ing,” is necessary to place the body in a state of 
vigorous health shows us that we are far from 


17 



Fasting for Health 


being in this perfect condition. Nature sees 
to it that certain signals or warnings are given, 
which indicate the length of time required in 
order to eliminate this useless and disease- 
producing material. During the time required 
for this process, hunger invariably leaves, the 
tongue becomes coated, the breath foul, and 
the body exerts itself in every way possible to 
dispose of the excess of mal-assimilated mate¬ 
rial within it. This effort on the part of Na¬ 
ture is continued for a longer or shorter period 
of time, necessitated by the actual condition of 
the patient undertaking the fast. In some 
cases only a few days may be needed; in other 
cases several weeks may be necessary in order 
to effect a thorough, physiological “house¬ 
cleaning.” 

When this condition has been brought about 
and the body has been thoroughly cleansed and 
inwardly purified, Nature indicates that such 
is the case by a series of unmistakable symp¬ 
toms. Natural hunger returns, the tongue 
clears, the breath again becomes sweet, the 
pulse and temperature again rise to normal, 
etc., as indicated more fully in the chapter 
dealing with “How to Break the ‘Finish’ Fast.” 

18 



What is Fasting? 


The point to emphasize here is that hunger 
returns only when the fast is naturally term¬ 
inated, and not until that time. This is a signal 
that food is then required, and if it is not given 
at that time, then actual starvation begins. 

We are now in a position to indicate briefly 
the exact difference between fasting and starv¬ 
ation: Fasting begins with the omission of 
the first meal and ends with the return of nat¬ 
ural hunger. Starvation, on the contrary, only 
begins with the return of natural hunger and 
ends with death. While the first is beneficial 
and curative, the second is detrimental and 
ultimately destructive to the body. No one has 
ever advocated starvation, but let me repeat 
again that the proper application of fasting 
is one of the most potent methods of cure which 
we possess. 

In reading the above, some such thought as 
the following may have entered the reader’s 
mind: “But I am hungry if I skip a meal, so 
that in my case fasting is not necessary, and 
consequently I must be in perfect health.” 
What is experienced at such times is not true 
hunger. It is mere “appetite,” or what is tech¬ 
nically known as “habit hunger.” If we are 
19 



Fasting for Health 


accustomed to eat three meals a day, a certain 
rhythm is established in the body, and a crav¬ 
ing for food recurs at the usual time for the 
meal; but if nothing is eaten at that time, a 
glass of water drunk, and the mind immediately 
diverted into other channels, it will be found 
that this craving for food soon wears off, and 
the person then discovers that he has, as we 
say, “lost his appetite.” 

Now this would be impossible if the body 
actually needed food. If such were the case, 
this craving would not disappear, but would, 
on the contrary, increase with every hour and 
become ultimately an acute pain—as it actually 
does in cases of starvation. What happens at 
such times is that the body, finding that no food 
is supplied to it at the regular time, turns its 
attention upon itself, and begins to absorb and 
assimilate the excess of nutriment already 
within it. 

It has been shown by experimental fasting 
that, after fasts, much less food is required to 
maintain the physical energies, the physiolog¬ 
ical activities, the weight, and the nitrogen 
balance; and that the fast produces a really 
more efficient “machine.” And it has also 


20 



What is Fasting? 


been shown that repeated fasts of from one to 
three days in growing animals, when the recov¬ 
ery is complete between fasts, result in better 
growth and greater strength of the animal. 
This will prove that children are not harmed 
by this procedure—especially when used for 
the cure of an abnormal condition! But the 
adult of any species, including human, can 
fast much longer at any given time than the 
young of the same species. 

The distinction must always be kept clearly 
in mind, however, between fasting and starva¬ 
tion. This is very essential. I have pointed 
out the difference between these conditions (so 
confused in the public and medical mind) in 
a number of places in this book, and I need 
only state here that while starvation is destruc¬ 
tive to the body, fasting is curative, remedial, 
renovative, and restorative. It is fasting alone 
which is advocated in this volume—and for the 
cure of diseased conditions alone! 

Fasting, therefore, as defended herein, is 
a scientific method of releasing the vital econ¬ 
omy from its thraldom of pollution and disease, 
and of physical and mental, rejuvenation and 
regeneration, by abstaining from food for a 
21 



Fasting for Health 


certain length of time. This measure, rightly 
applied, is a powerful remedial agent —how 
powerful, I shall endeavor to show and prove 
as we proceed. 


% 


22 



Chapter II 


The History of the Fasting Idea 

T HE practice of fasting is one of the most 
ancient customs of which we have any 
record. More than two thousand years ago 
the fasting cure was advocated by the school 
of the natural philosopher Asclepiades, and 
we know that Plutarch said, “Instead of using 
medicine rather fast a day.” Traces of this 
idea are to be found in ancient Chinese and 
Hindu writings, and it is, of course, a matter 
of record that the early Christian monks and 
ascetics abstained from food very frequently 
—largely as a religious rite. Frequent refer¬ 
ences to fasting are to he found in the Bible, 
and in the Middle Ages it was a common 
practice. Thus, we read in a queer old hook 
entitled “Of Good Workes and First of Fast¬ 
ing,” published in the sixteenth century, that 
the Church of England speaks of fasting and 
of its treatment by the Council of Calderon in 
the following words:— 

23 


Fasting for Health 


“The Fathers assembled there . . . decreed 
in that Council that every person, as well in 
his private as public fast should continue all 
day without meat and drink, till the evening 
prayer. And whosoever did eat and drink 
before the evening prayer was ended, should 
be accounted and reputed not to consider the 
purity of his fast. The Canon teacheth so 
evidently how fasting was used in the primi¬ 
tive church, as by words that cannot be more 
plainly expressed.” 

Again we read in the “Peregrinatio Silvias” 
(the writer is describing how Lent was ob¬ 
served in Jerusalem, when she was there about 
386 A.D.): 

“They abstained entirely from all food dur¬ 
ing Lent, except only on Saturdays and Sun¬ 
days. They took a meal about midday on 
Sunday and after that they took nothing un¬ 
til Saturday morning. This was their rule 
though Lent.” 

These earlier practices of fasting, however, 
were usually associated with some form of 
penance or mortification of the body, and were 
usually part of some religious rite. It was not 
until the last century that fasting came to be 
24 



The History of the Fasting Idea 


looked upon as a valuable therapeutic meas¬ 
ure, which might be applied in cases of disease, 
and it is this which distinguishes the modern 
theory of fasting from all the older views, 
inasmuch as the new view holds it to be a 
curative or therapeutic measure of great value, 
while the older view was that it served merely 
as a means of spiritual growth or exaltation. 

The great value of fasting, in many cases 
of disease, was pointed out by many of the 
early nature cure writers—particularly Syl¬ 
vester Graham (of Graham bread fame), Dr. 
R. T. Trail, Dr. Joel Shew, Dr. John Cowan, 
Sebastian Kneipp, and many others. Long 
before this, Cornaro, Bacon, and many of the 
earlier writers had emphasized the importance 
of a very limited diet, and a number of physi¬ 
cians have continued to emphasize this up to 
the present day. 

It was Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey, how¬ 
ever, who first formulated the new science of 
fasting, in a series of remarkable books in 
which this modern view was first put forward; 
and it was backed-up by innumerable cases of 
prolonged fasts which the author had himself 
observed and studied. This pioneer work of 
25 



Fasting for Health 


Dr. Dewey gave rise to the newer view of 
fasting, by placing the whole subject within 
an entirely new light. It was further sup¬ 
ported by the lengthy experimental fasts 
undertaken by Dr. Tanner (once in Chicago 
and once in New York), when he fasted for 
forty days—showing that it was possible to 
remain alive and well for at least that period 
of time, without actually starving to death! 

At the time his fasts were undertaken, prac¬ 
tically nothing was known of the subject, and 
the hue and cry of “fraud” was at once raised, 
and attempts made to discredit the reality of 
his facts. When, however, other cases were 
forthcoming, in which various individuals had 
succeeded in fasting for even longer periods 
than forty days, and had not died, but had, 
on the contrary, only benefited themselves in 
consequence, it followed that another view of 
the subject was in order, and that its scien¬ 
tific study would have to be undertaken. 

I may perhaps be permitted to say that I 
was one of the first writers in this country who 
publicly advocated the fasting cure, and in¬ 
duced, directly or indirectly, a large number 
of patients to undertake this method of cure. 

26 



The History of the Fasting Idea 


Since those early days I have had an opportun¬ 
ity of observing many hundreds of cases of 
fasts, varying in length from one to ninety 
days, as previously stated, and the result of 
my experience has been that, in practically 
every case in which fasting has been under¬ 
taken scientifically for the purpose of curing 
disease, only beneficial results have followed 
in consequence, and many thousands of per¬ 
sons have had their health restored to them by 
following this simple, but rational method of 
cure. 

Many years ago various “professional fast- 
ers” were studied in detail by physiologists in 
Europe, but it is probable that the majority 
of these men were merely starving themselves 
for longer or shorter periods of time, and weie 
not actually “fasting,” in the scientific sense of 
the term in which it is now employed. 

The first lengthy study undertaken in this 
country was made by Professor Francis Gano 
Benedict, of the Carnegie Nutrition Labora¬ 
tories in Boston. He published two illumin¬ 
ating works entitled respectively “The Influ¬ 
ence of Inanition on Metabolism” and “A 
Study of Prolonged Fasting.” He observed 
27 



Fasting rent Health 


several patients during their fasts and, in his 
second book, dealt particularly with the thirty- 
one day fast of Dr. Augustino Levanzin, who 
came from Malta to the United States in 
order to undergo this fast in the interests of 
science. A summary of these results will be 
given in a later chapter. 

Among the later scientific advocates of fast¬ 
ing may be mentioned Dr. A. Guelpa, of 
Paris, who has published a book entitled 
“Auto-Intoxication and Disintoxication: An 
Account of a New Fasting Treatment in 
Diabetes and Other Chronic Diseases,” and 
Dr. Henrik Stern, who published a book en¬ 
titled “Fasting and Under-Nutrition in the 
Treatment of Diabetes (The Allen Treat¬ 
ment).” It is also of interest to note that the 
Rockefeller Institute, of New York, has also 
applied the fasting cure in the treatment of 
this disease, an account of which may be found 
in “The Starvation Treatment of Diabetes,” 
by Drs. Lewis W. Hill and Rene S. Eckman. 

From the very first number of Physical 
Culture Magazine, I have consistently advo¬ 
cated the fasting cure; and a number of arti¬ 
cles, as well as “cases ” have been published 
28 



The History of the Fasting Idea 


dealing with this subject. I also published a 
little book entitled “Fasting, Hydropathy and 
Exercise,” in the year 1900; and a large part 
of Vol. Ill of “The Encyclopedia of Physical 
Culture” is devoted to fasting. Dr. Linda 
Burfield Hazzard’s book was also published 
by the Macfadden Publications Corporation; 
and Upton Sinclair (The Fasting Cure), 
Purington (The Philosophy of Fasting), 
Beals, Walton, and others, have published 
books upon this subject. One of the most 
extensive is Hereward Carrington s Vitality, 
Fasting and Nutrition,” an extensive work of 
nearly seven hundred pages, dealing with all 
phases of fasting. The present book is in¬ 
tended to summarize the foregoing works, and 
to state the fundamental theories of the fasting 
cure in plain, simple language. How far the 
author has succeeded in doing this must be left 
for the reader to decide. The above outline 
will, at least, give a general idea of the evolu¬ 
tion of the fasting theory—from the earliest 
times to the present day, and will show how it 
has gradually evolved from a primitive relig¬ 
ious rite to a scientific, therapeutic measure 
of the utmost value and importance. 

29 



Chapter III 


Effects of Fasting on the Body 

TN our chapter dealing with the History of 
Fasting we saw that it was an extremely 
ancient practice, indulged in, more or less, by 
individuals and by groups of specially inclined 
persons, mostly for religious purposes. It is 
nevertheless true that the scientific study of 
fasting is relatively new, and it has remained 
for our own age to study it from the purely 
therapeutic and scientific standpoint. Towards 
the end of the last century a number of Euro¬ 
pean savants, mostly Italians, undertook pro¬ 
longed studies of fasting cases, so-called, but 
from what we now know of the subject it is 
evident that they studied cases of starvation — 
which, while valuable in themselves, throw no 
light upon the therapeutic aspect of fasting , 
as advocated by modern physicians who recom¬ 
mend this method of cure. 

The fasting cure is based upon the fun- 
80 


Effects of Fasting 


damental assumption, previously referred to, 
that most diseases are very largely curative 
processes, and that what we regard as the 
disease is, as a rule, a mere complex of symp¬ 
toms or outward manifestations of the under¬ 
lying cause—which cause is in reality the thing 
to be removed—that which produces the dis¬ 
eased state. Once we succeed in removing this 
cause, the symptoms disappear of themselves, 
without having been “repressed” or “sup¬ 
pressed” as they too often are under orthodox 
medical treatment. All Nature Cure methods 
are based upon the fundamental truth that 
Nature is the prime curative agent and that 
any methods of cure should attempt merely to 
assist Nature instead of blocking her efforts. 
To this end, the various channels of elimination 
in the body are stimulated as much as possible, 
and, by depriving the patient of food for the 
time being, the further introduction of possibly 
toxic material is prevented, while the energies 
of the body are conserved and utilized for 
purposes of cure. 

Dr. Joel Shew has stated very clearly the 
principles upon which the fasting cure is based, 
31 




Fasting for Hearth 


and a brief quotation from his book may per¬ 
haps be valuable in this connection. He says: 

“The principle on which the hunger cure 
acts is one on which all physiologists are 
agreed, and one which is readily explained and 
understood. We know that, in animal bodies, 
the law of nature is for the effete and worn-out 
and least vitalized matter first to be cast off. 
We see this upon the cuticle, nails, hair, and 
in the snake casting off his old skin. Now, in 
wasting or famishing from want of food, this 
process of elimination and purification goes 
on in a much more rapid manner than ordi¬ 
narily, and the vital force which would other¬ 
wise be expended in digesting the food eaten 
acts now in expelling from the vital domain 
whatever morbific matters it may contain. 
This, then, is a beautiful idea in regard to the 
hunger cure—that whenever a meal of food 
is omitted, the body purifies itself this much 
from its disease , and it becomes apparent in 
the subsequent amendment, both as regards 
bodily feelings and strength. It is proved 
also in the fact that, during the prevalence of 
epidemics, those who have been obliged to live 
almost in a state of starvation, have been free 
32 



Effects of Fasting 


from attacks, while the well-fed have been cut 
off in numbers by the merciless disease.” 

The point here made is very important, 
namely, that the energy which is ordinarily 
used in the digestion and assimilation of food 
may, when that food is withheld, be turned 
into other channels and used for the purposes 
of cleansing the system, by eliminating pois¬ 
onous material from it. We do not per¬ 
haps realize to what extent the processes of 
metabolism draw upon the body energies. It 
requires an enormous amount of energy to 
digest, convert, and push through thirty feet 
of tubing several pounds of food material, and 
to carry the normal and excess assimilated 
food elements through every blood vessel in 
the body, over and over again. If this energy 
is not utilized for that purpose, it is free to be 
utilized in other directions, and in all cases 
of disease it is in the main actually used for 
purpose of cure. Many people keep them¬ 
selves tired and exhausted by using up the 
energies of the body in continual digestive 
processes which are actually detrimental; and 
the auto-intoxication which results from this 
excessive food also poisons the tissues and 
33 



Fasting for Health 


nerve-cells throughout the body, inducing 
sluggishness, laziness, and fatigue. The de¬ 
gree to which the bodily energies revive when 
food is withheld or restricted for some days is 
astonishing, and clearly shows us what a large 
amount of energy is actually wasted by us in 
the digestion and elimination of quantities of 
food-material which we do not really require. 

Two important truths emerge from the 
above argument. These are, first, that during 
a fast the energy which was previously utilized 
in the digestion of food material is now set at 
liberty, and may be used to cure the body; and, 
second, that during a fast the useless and dead 
matter is always first eliminated—leaving the 
healthy tissue free to function normally. As 
Doctor Dewey so tersely put it, “Take away 
food from a sick man’s stomach and you have 
begun, not to starve the sick man, but the 
disease.” Or as Hippocrates said, many cen¬ 
turies before, “The more you nourish a dis¬ 
eased body the worse you make it!” 

Just as a chain is only as strong as its weak¬ 
est link, so is the body only as strong as its 
weakest part or organ; and, if the body is 
weakened and devitalized by disease, every 
34 



Effects of Fasting 


organ and function throughout the body is 
likewise weakened and devitalized to some 
extent. The stomach is particularly affected, 
being, of course, more intimately associated 
with the intake of food, but every part of the 
body is more or less directly concerned with 
the process of metabolism or food change. 
The more diseased the body, the weaker must 
be the functioning power of each and every 
organ, and, as the diseased organ or part 
should he made the standard of the ability of 
the whole system, the less work should it be 
called upon to perform—until healthy, normal 
conditions are restored. 

Whenever a machine of any kind is out of 
order and needs repairing, the first thing to 
do, almost invariably, is to stop the machine. 
Now the human body is a machine and, in 
disease, it is out of order! What could be more 
rational than to stop its digestive activities 
while the process of cure is proceeding? This 
process , of repair is a healthy process, and is 
normally a great tax upon the bodily energies. 
Is it not obvious, therefore, that any useless 
vital tax should be stopped, so far as possible, 
while the cure is taking place? 

35 



Fasting for Hearth 


In fevers, and in many diseased conditions, 
the body continues to waste, no matter how 
much food be eaten; in fact the more food we 
eat, the more rapidly the body wastes—clearly 
proving that we are starving and poisoning the 
patient at the same time. The obvious thing 
to do under these circumstances is to withdraw 
the food—allowing the body to eliminate the 
excess of poisonous material within it, and at 
the same time to flush out the system, by means 
of large quantities of water internally and 
externally. 

The greatest of all illusions is that it is pos¬ 
sible to “support the strength” of the sick per¬ 
son by giving him food! As a matter of fact, 
it has precisely the reverse effect. It keeps 
the patient weak and diseased for a longer 
time, and depletes the energies far more than 
they would be if food had been withheld en¬ 
tirely. One need never be afraid, therefore, 
of insisting upon a complete fast in practically 
all cases of serious, and particularly of acute 
disease. 

Precisely what takes place in the body, how¬ 
ever, at such times, is a very interesting ques¬ 
tion, and it is this which modern physiological 

36 



Effects of Fasting 


science has been called upon to discover and 
explain. Several extensive studies have been 
made of late years and a brief summary of 
these results should be given here. 

Two very extensive studies of fasting have 
been published by the Carnegie Institute (Nu¬ 
trition Laboratories) of Boston, Mass., under 
the titles “The Influence of Inanition on Meta¬ 
bolism,” and “A Study of Prolonged Fast¬ 
ing,” both by Prof. Francis Gano Benedict. 
As the result of extensive experiments, it was 
found that the bodily temperature remained 
more or less normal for the first week or so, 
showing a tendency, at times, to sink and at 
other times to rise, but that after the first 
week a fall in temperature was noticed, which 
was more or less permanent during the re¬ 
mainder of the fast. The pulse rate remained 
more nearly normal, in some cases rising and 
in others falling. The respiration remained 
fairly steady—the conclusion being arrived at 
that “The pulse rate is much more liable to 
fluctuations than the respiration rate.” 

The blood was next studied, most interest¬ 
ing results being obtained. The report says: 

“Senator and Mueller, in reporting the re- 
37 



Fasting for Health 


suits of their examinations of the blood of Cetti 
and Breithaupt, note an increase in the red 
blood corpuscles with both subjects. ... In a 
later examination of Succi’s blood, by Tauszk, 
the conclusions reached were: (1) that after 
a short period of diminution in the number of 
red blood corpuscles there is a slight increase; 
(2) that the number of white blood corpuscles 
decreases as the fast progresses; (3) the num¬ 
ber of the mononuclear corpuscles decreases; 
(4) the number of the eosinophiles and poly¬ 
nuclear cells increases, and finally (5) that the 
alkalinescence of the blood diminishes . . . 
The newer experiments agreed with these re¬ 
sults almost entirely. 

Hereward Carrington, in his book on 
“Vitality, Fasting, and Nutrition,” has called 
attention to the fact that, in cases of fasting 
(as opposed to starvation), the bodily temper¬ 
ature, while it may be subnormal throughout 
the greater part of a fast, has a distinct ten¬ 
dency to rise to normal when natural hunger 
returns, and has also called attention to the 
fact that, in several cases observed by him, 
the temperature dropped a degree or more 
when the fast was broken and the patient be- 
38 



Effects of Fasting 


gan to eat solid food—which we should think 
would tend to raise the temperature. The fact 
that the bodily temperature may be elevated 
permanently by a therapeutic fast has also 
been attested by Dr. A. Rabagliti, who says: 

“In point of fact, I raised the temperature 
of a man who was, besides, thin, emaciated, 
and attenuated by constant vomiting, lasting 
for seven years, from 96 degrees Fahrenheit 
to 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit, by advising him to 
fast for thirty-five days.” 

Were our food the source of bodily heat, in 
the sense commonly supposed, such a result 
would be impossible, and these results seem to 
show us that the heat of the body is not directly 
dependent upon the chemical combustion of 
the food. 

It is true, nevertheless, that a patient may 
feel cold, during a fast, particularly if he is 
fasting in damp or cold weather. This feeling 
of chilliness, however, has nothing to do with 
the body’s actual warmth. A case has been 
reported in which the patient complained of 
being “cold,” etc., when the bodily temper¬ 
ature was 97.8 degrees Fahrenheit (or only 
0.8 degrees Fahrenheit below normal), on the 
39 



Fasting for Health 


twenty-third day of a fast, while he did not 
feel the external temperature as being cold 
when an examination showed that his actual 
bodily temperature was nearly two degrees 
Fahrenheit lower! This shows us that the 
sensation of cold has nothing to do with the 
patient’s actual temperature, as registered by 
the thermometer, but is due to the condition 
of the skin, nervousness, and other factors. 

Dr. John D. Malcom has stated that “It is 
usual to have the temperature and the pulse 
rising and falling together, and it has been 
approximately estimated that in fever an in¬ 
crease in the temperature of one degree Fah¬ 
renheit above 98 degrees Fahrenheit corre¬ 
sponds with an increase in the pulse of ten per 
minute.” 

While this is very largely true, it is a curi¬ 
ous fact that this correspondence by no means 
exists in fasting cases, and that, at such times, 
the pulse may sometimes run up to 110 or even 
120 beats per minute, the temperature mean¬ 
while remaining almost normal. Again, the 
pulse may sink far below normal, without any 
corresponding fall in the temperature being 
noted. I have known of the pulse being 40 
40 



Effects of Fasting 


per minute in fasting patients, with no un¬ 
toward effects. It is well to bear these facts 
in mind while observing fasting cases, for 
otherwise the patient may become alarmed at 
symptoms of this character if they develop, 
whereas there is no cause for fear. 

Prof. Benedict, in his Report, details a 
number of interesting experiments upon the 
strength of his subject. Dr. Levanzin. And 
regarding similar experiments he has this to 

sa y ; _ . . 

“In the tests made by Luciam on Succi in 
which a dynamometer was used, the strength 
of the right and left hands showed results 
seemingly at variance with the popular im¬ 
pression. Thus, on the twenty-first day of 
the fast, Succi was able to register on the 
dynamometer a stronger grip than when the 
fast began. From the twentieth to the thii- 
tieth day of the fast, however, his strength 
decreased, being less at the end than at the 
beginning of the fast. In discussing these 
results, Luciani points out the fact that Succi 
believed that he gained in strength as the fast 
progressed. Considering the question of the 
influence of inanition on the onset of fatigue, 
41 



Fasting for Health 


Luciani states that the fatigue curve obtained 
by Succi on the twenty-ninth day was similar 
to those obtained with an individual under nor¬ 
mal conditions.” 

Hr. John E. Loveland, who reported upon 
several cases of this character, states that: 

“On the fourth day of the fast, the force of 
the pulse appeared less than on previous days. 
On the fifth day there was an irregularity 
noted, the individual beats varying in force. 
On the sixth and seventh days of fasting, and 
the first day with food, the force appeared 
greater than on the other five days. At no time 
did the pulse rate and force appear to approach 
a dangerous situation. At the end of the fast 
the subject was in a condition that, in my opin¬ 
ion, would have warranted his continuing the 
fast with impunity.” 

Further proof of this increase in strength 
during the fast is furnished in Prof. Benedict’s 
Report, where we read:— 

“The fast of Merlatti, which was said to 
have continued fifty days, was characterized 
by extreme discomfort, pain, and sensation 
of coldness. During the thirty-day fast of 
Jacques, the only marked discomfort noticed 

42 



Effects of Fasting 


was a slight attack of gout which appeared 
on the sixteenth day. In the numerous fasts 
of Succi, no marked discomfort was observed. 
In fact, during his fast at Florence, his cheer¬ 
fulness, and apparent good health were the 
subject of much comment. 

“The record of the subjective impressions of 
J. A., in the experiments of the Stockholm 
Laboratory, show that on the first day of the 
fast he noticed no dizziness. On the second day, 
while his general condition was good, he ob¬ 
served unusual weakness following a slight 
muscular exertion. On the third day he was 
in not a little discomfort and was dizzy when 
climbing on a short ladder inside the respira¬ 
tion chamber. On the fourth day, the pain in 
the stomach disappeared and no dizziness was 
noticed in the experiment on the ladder. On 
the fifth day, the general condition was excel¬ 
lent and there was no pain or discomfort in 
the stomach. His strength, too, was greater, 
although he noticed that if he arose suddenly 
from the bed, there appeared to be black spots 
before his eyes .... It seems therefore that, 
from the experiments made in this laboratory, 
the conclusion can properly be drawn that fast- 
43 



Fasting tor Health 


ing, per se, produces no marked symptoms of 
pain or weakness—at least during the first 
days of inanition.” 

The condition of the tongue and of the 
breath also vary greatly during the period of 
fasting. No extended study of these ques¬ 
tions was made by Prof. Benedict, in his ex¬ 
periments, but numerous fasting experts have 
dwelt upon them at considerable length, and 
they present valuable indications as to the 
character and progress of the fast. 

The tongue has always been considered an 
indication of the patient’s bodily health. If 
the tongue is clear, other things being equal, 
the health is considered good, while if it is 
heavily coated the patient is thought to be in 
more or less diseased condition. The study of 
fasting cases has clearly proved that this judg¬ 
ment is entirely erroneous, and that a patient 
whose tongue is heavily coated may be in a 
far better condition (actually) than one whose 
tongue is perfectly clear! 

The proof of this lies in the following fact: 
Immediately a fast is entered upon, the tongue 
(which may previously have been quite clean) 
coats heavily, and this coat frequently increases 
44 



Effects of Fasting 


day after day throughout the early stages of 
the fast. No one who understands the mech¬ 
anism of the fasting cure will contend that the 
patient was in a better condition at the begin¬ 
ning of his fast than he was after fasting (say) 
one week. Nevertheless, were we to judge by 
the condition of the tongue alone, we should 
have to assume this. The reason for the coat¬ 
ing of the tongue is that Nature employs every 
avenue of elimination possible; that impurities 
within the system are poured out upon every 
mucous surface; and the tongue, being actually 
a part of the alimentary canal, is used for this 
purpose in Nature’s effort to purify the system 
as rapidly as possible. 

The important thing to observe about this 
phenomenon is that the tongue, while it may be 
heavily coated throughout a fast, almost in¬ 
variably clears when natural hunger returns 
and the fast is ready to be broken. This is one 
of the symptoms of the return of normal 
hunger, and a sure indication that the system 
is ready for the fast to be broken. By watch¬ 
ing the tongue, one can thus gauge the condi¬ 
tion of the patient throughout the fast in many 
cases. In others, other signs and symptoms 
45 



Fasting for Health 


will have to used as guides. As Carrington 
says in his “Vitality, Fasting and Nutrition,” 
“A slight coating—heavy coating—very heavy 
coating—foul coating (continuing for a longer 
or shorter period, according to the length of 
the fast necessary) slightly cleared—rapid 
clearing—are observed, followed by a com¬ 
plete return to normal conditions, at precisely 
the period of the return of natural hunger. 
This was the almost invariable routine, and 
indicates once again how in accordance with 
natural organic law this method of treatment 
is, and how clearly indicated are Nature’s 
symptoms, were we but to heed them.” 

This coating may be removed by rinsing the 
mouth and by brushing the tongue with a 
tooth brush, dipped in a mixture of peroxide 
and water. The color and depth of the coat 
on the tongue are also important. The deeper 
the coat and the darker brown the color, the 
graver the condition indicated. 

It should be noted, however, that the tongue 
does not invariably clear completely at the con¬ 
clusion of the fast. I mention this because one 
or two somewhat fanatical patients who had 
decided that they would not break the fast 

46 



Effects of Easting 


until the tongue completely cleared continued 
fasting until they actually starved to death 1 
One case of this character occurred some years 
ago in California. The patient should not, 
therefore, rely upon this symptom taken by 
itself, but should be guided by a complex of 
indications, the tongue being but one of these. 

The condition of the breath is also of great 
interest in fasting cases. After the patient has 
fasted for some days, a peculiar and character¬ 
istic odor, which cannot possibly be associated 
with any condition other than fasting, becomes 
manifest. The breath is sweet, but not sweet 
with the fragrance of health. Associated with 
this there is also another peculiar odor, diffi¬ 
cult to describe, but the combination frequently 
reminds one of the smell of chloroform. This 
condition of the breath changes as the fast 
progresses, and when the fast is ready to be 
broken, the breath usually will have assumed 
its usual healthy odor, characteristic of a whole¬ 
some condition of the body. In some cases 
as with the tongue coating, it seems out of the 
question to fast the patients until this peculiar 
sweetish odor has given away to a normal odor. 

Prof. Benedict, in his Carnegie Report, 
47 



Fasting fok Health 


studied at considerable length the solid and 
fluid excreta of the body during fasting, and 
regarding them has this to say:— 

“Fasting . . . affects first the amount and 

regularity of the defecation.Owing to 

long retention in the colon, fasting feces be¬ 
come hard, much dried and pillular, and fre¬ 
quently cause considerable uneasiness. Much 
difficulty is experienced in passing them, and 
at times they may cause considerable pain with 
slight hemorrhages. The use of an enema to 
remove the fecal matter during inanition is 
quite common. This method was~employed 
throughout the thirty day fast of Succi—re¬ 
ported by Luciani. Depending upon the 
amount of food consumed on the day previous, 
the defecation of the first day of fasting may 
be quite as regular as on the ordinary food 
days. The most important factor noted was 
that feces were frequently retained for a num¬ 
ber of days together, during fasting, with no 
apparent attempt on the part of Nature to 
effect a movement—a fact noted by myself 
also.” 

The question of the average amount of 
weight lost during a fast is also of considerable 

48 




Effects of Fasting 


scientific importance. As the result of numer¬ 
ous observations it has been shown that a 
pound a day is the average loss of weight over 
extended periods of fasting. This amount is 
greater at the beginning of the fast and less 
towards its close. In ten cases of quite differ¬ 
ent types Carrington noted that there was a 
loss of 248 pounds in a total of 253 fasting 
days. This is practically a pound a day. The 
patients varied in weight all the way from 228 
pounds to 108y 2 pounds at the beginning of 
the fast, so that these results may be taken 
as fairly typical of other cases. 

The great loss during the first two or three 
days is mostly due to elimination of intestinal 
contents without replacement, and is not an 
actual loss as is that of later days. 

This fact is of importance for the reason 
that it shows us that the body, when in health, 
needs about one pound of food a day in order 
to maintain it in a state of physiological and 
nutritional equilibrium. Instead of this, how¬ 
ever, many persons, in health, eat three or foui 
pounds of food, and even more, under the im¬ 
pression that this amount is necessary in order 
to preserve them in a state of health. How 
49 



Fasting for Health 


erroneous this opinion is may readily be proved 
by an observation of these fasting cases. 

While this is the average loss of weight, 
there are of course wide variations—exces¬ 
sively fat persons losing much more than a 
pound a day, and thin and emaciated persons 
usually losing less. There are also cases on 
record in which practically nothing at all has 
been lost, during several days of fasting after 
the first three or four days and what is yet 
more curious, there are cases on record in which 
the patient has actually gained weight, though 
no food whatever had been consumed during 
the period of fasting! This apparent impos¬ 
sibility has been explained by assuming that 
the tissues of the body are in such cases very 
dense and solid and that during the fast these 
spaces or interstices between these tissues are, 
so to say, opened up like the pores of a sponge, 
and are filled in with water, which has of course 
been imbibed during the fasting period. This 
pathological density of the tissues is a serious 
condition which, unless checked, might lead to 
premature death. Dr. R. T. Trail indeed 
went so far as to define natural death as “That 
condition in which the solids are so dispropor- 
50 



Effects of Fasting 


tioned to the fluids that the nutritive processes 
can no longer be carried on.” From this it 
will be seen that it is very essential to maintain 
the fluidity and elasticity of the body, and that 
when this condition of “blockage” takes place, 
serious results are bound to ensue. Fasting 
is the speediest and surest method of correct¬ 
ing this condition. 

The stomach is, of course, one of the first 
organs in the body to be affected by fasting. 
Physiologists usually contend that food is di¬ 
gested by the stomach in from two to five 
hours. Observations of fasting cases, how¬ 
ever, have shown that this is completely erro¬ 
neous, and that undigested food is retained in 
the stomach for one, two, or even three days! 
I have personally known of cases where food 
was ejected from the stomach at the end of 
three days, in spite of profuse water-drinking, 
yet these patients were not fasting for stomach 
trouble at all, and were quite unaware that 
anything had been the matter with that organ 
prior to their fast! As solid food is withheld, 
the walls of the stomach gradually approach 
nearer and nearer, until they practically touch 
one another, and this condition is maintained 
51 



Fasting for Health 


until solid food is again eaten—since water 
does not distend the stomach for any appre¬ 
ciable period of time, in its passage through it. 

And just here it may be a good place to 
answer an oft-occurring objection to fasting 
that is made on this very ground. “The idea 
of allowing your stomach to get into this weak¬ 
ened and collapsed condition,” I hear my 
reader say; “it’s a wonder that you are ever 
able to digest anything again! Think of the 
weakened condition the stomach must be in to 
have assumed this condition, with every muscle 
slackened and inactive; it’s a wonder you ever 
recover!” This objection is, of course, based 
on an altogether erroneous idea of the func¬ 
tions of the stomach, and the relative amount 
of work it should perform. Many people be¬ 
lieve (why, heaven only knows,) that a man 
should in duty bound keep his stomach at work 
every hour of the day and night, and that if 
he should happen to leave it empty for a short 
time, it would immediately commence to 
“weaken” until it had not sufficient strength 
left to properly resume its functions when eat¬ 
ing was again resumed. 

Where such a curious hallucination could 


52 



Effects of Fasting 


have originated it is hard to see. The stomach 
is a muscle , and this muscle requires rest like 
any other muscle in the body. Alternate rest 
and work is the organic law of the body. The 
only way in which the stomach can get rest is 
to deprive it of food, and when this is done it 
at once begins to repair any injury done to it, 
and to recuperate from the excessive work 
which had previously been thrown upon it. 

Another important point to bear in mind is 
that the gastric juice is not secreted to any 
extent during a fast. Under normal conditions 
it may be laid down as a general rule that 
gastric juice is secreted, not according to the 
amount of food swallowed, but according to 
the needs of the organism, and if these needs 
are nil but a small quantity of gastric juice is 
secreted, even if a considerable quantity of 
food be eaten. Under these conditions, it is 
only natural that all food should be improperly 
digested. During the fast, this secretion prac¬ 
tically ceases entirely, so that there is no danger 
that the walls of the stomach will be “eaten 
away” by the gastric juice which has been 
secreted in excess, as many seem to fear! 

Many patients who have suffered for years 
53 



Fasting for Health 


from stomach trouble have been permanently 
relieved by even a relatively short fast. The 
moment the last morsel of food is digested and 
the stomach emptied, a general reconstructive 
process begins, owing to the fact that the 
broken-down cells are replaced by healthy 
ones, which is Nature’s method of repairing 
any destroyed or injured part of the organism. 
This replacement of cells means gradual re¬ 
placement of tissue; replacement of tissue 
means that a new stomach has been created— 
a stomach in every sense of the word new — 
and this new stomach is enabled to digest food 
for long periods of time, unless it is reabused, 
in which case, of course, stomach trouble may 
again develop. 

It has frequently been noticed that after 
a fast the stomach will not tolerate and the 
system does not crave the enormous quantity 
of food which had before been indulged in. 
Dr. Russell H. Chittenden stated that “in the 
latter part of September, 1903, Dr. Underhill 
attempted to return to his original methods of 
living (after a fast), but found difficulty in 
consuming the daily quantities of food he had 
formerly been in the habit of taking.” 

54 > 



Effects of Fasting 


The reason for this seems to be partly that 
the whole system has been toned-up and ren¬ 
dered more normal; partly in the fact that the 
patient has learned to control his appetite; but 
most of all because of the fact that the stomach 
has not been so constantly over-stretched and 
distended that it is uncomfortable until it is 
in this abnormal condition. At the conclusion 
of a fast, having shrunk to small proportions, 
it refuses to be again distended and engorged 
to the previous unnatural extent without pro¬ 
test—hence the inability to eat the amount of 
food formerly ingested. 

Inasmuch as the lungs are the great purifiers 
of the blood, they are among the first organs 
to feel the beneficial effects of a fast. Any 
congestion of the lungs is speedily removed 
during the early days so that a free, unob¬ 
structed passage of air is readily provided, and 
the feeling of clearness and the ability to talk 
and sing, together with a greater range and 
depth of tone, is sometimes observed in patients 
undergoing a fast; though there are cases in 
which the voice seems to lose strength and 
clearness, with an almost immediate return 
of these powers after resuming a regular diet. 

55 



Fasting foe Health 


It must be remembered that the lungs eliminate 
impurities at such times with extreme rapidity, 
and as this process of purification continues, 
and greater aeration becomes possible, the blood 
stream is consequently purified and the general 
benefits from this are at once observed through¬ 
out the entire body. 

The liver and kidneys are, of course, ulti¬ 
mately cleansed by a fast, though they may have 
added work thrown upon them during the early 
days of a fast. The heart is also relieved of 
undue strain, since we know that many cases 
of heart-disease, so called, are due merely to 
the toxins which have accumulated within the 
system and, poisoning the heart muscles, pre¬ 
vent their normal functioning. The bowels 
are immediately affected by a fast, and one of 
the most noticeable effects of fasting is the 
reduction of the lower abdomen after the first 
two or three days when food is withheld. The 
bowels become slowly emptied as the fast pro¬ 
gresses, the work of purification being aided 
by copious enemas; the walls of the bowels 
become cleansed and a complete rejuvenation 
takes place as the irritating ingesta is removed. 

The character and quantity of the secretions 

56 



Effects of Fasting 


is greatly altered during a fast; the saliva and 
the gastric juice are secreted in but small quan¬ 
tities, and the saliva may acquire a character¬ 
istic rancid or unpleasant taste. This, how¬ 
ever, passes away before the termination of 
the fast. 

The senses become excessively acute, and 
many patients have been enabled to see, hear, 
and smell far more acutely than they had been 
for years. The eyes become clear and bright; 
hearing is made acute to an unusual degree— 
many cases of partial deafness having been 
cured by fasting. This is doubtless due to the 
fact that the congestion of the inner ear, and 
particularly the eustachian tube, has been re¬ 
moved, creating more open inlet for air, thus 
equalizing the air pressure on both sides of the 
ear drum and allowing a freer vibration to take 
place, resulting in more acute hearing. 

The effects of fasting upon the blood are 
of course extremely important, inasmuch as 
the blood is the medium through which the 
nutritional changes within the body are carried 
on. It is the conveyer of nutriment to the 
various tissues throughout the body, and is also 
the great cleanser and purifier, so that it is only 
57 



Fasting tor Health 


natural the blood should be fundamentally af¬ 
fected by a fast. 

The blood becomes to some extent thinner 
during the fast, and absorbs and carries away 
all unassimilated food material, conveying it 
to the various depurating organs for elimina¬ 
tion. It is a fact, however, that the number 
of red blood corpuscles increases during the 
early days of a fast, though there may be a 
slight decrease towards the end, if it is pro¬ 
tracted—perfectly safe in the therapeutic fast. 

The brain and nervous system are profound¬ 
ly affected by a fast, and it has been frequently 
observed that the processes of thinking become 
clearer and more facilitated as it progresses, 
so that long-continued thought is possible to a 
degree which would previously have insured 
brain fatigue. As the blood, which bathes the 
nervous system and the higher brain-cells, is 
gradually purified, these acquire an added life, 
and increased nervous energy is noted in con¬ 
sequence. The effects of all this upon the mind 
are far-reaching. Inasmuch as the mind util¬ 
izes the brain for the purposes of its manifesta¬ 
tion, it is obvious that anything which improves 
the condition of that organ renders possible a 
58 



Effects of Fasting 


sounder mind and a more optimistic point of 
view. “Pessimism,” says Max Nordau, “has a 
physiological basis.” “I believe,” says Dr. 
Alexander Haig, “that, as the result of a ra¬ 
tional, natural, and proper diet, producing the 
best circulation in the great powerhouse of the 
human body, we shall have not only freedom 
from gross disease, but we shall have gradually 
developing conditions of mmd, thought, judg¬ 
ment, and morality which will, in the future, be 
as different from what they have been in the 
diseased and degraded past, as the light of 
heaven is different from the darkness of a 
dungeon; and that while there are today many 
things in human nature which all believers in 
the great and good and true can only most 
heartily deplore, I believe that, in the future, 
there will be more harmony, more strength, 
more beauty, more unselfishness, more love- 
in a word, a truer and greater and more com¬ 
plete sanity 

All this fasting will do for us, individually 
and racially; and it will he seen that these ob¬ 
servations upon the effects of fasting have 
shown us that, even from a purely physiolog¬ 
ical standpoint, we are forced to these conclu- 
59 



Fasting for Health 


sions, and forced to concede that fasting 
demonstrates to us in a remarkable manner at 
once the independence and the inter-depend¬ 
ence of mind and body. And, with a cleansed 
body, purified blood, a clearer brain, and an 
unprejudiced and open mind, the patient can 
review his past life and clearly perceive how 
transgressed physiological law is the true and 
only cause of disease and suffering throughout 
the Universe (a departure from which rendered 
the fast necessary), and how clear it is that 
Nature provides, in fasting, an unfailing 
sovereign remedy, always ready at hand, and 
that the mere following of Nature’s dictates 
will and must render a return to health possible 
in every case where such a cure is possible at 
all. 


60 



Chapter IV 


When to and When Not to Fast 

HEN should one fast? For what dis- 



* * ease ? Is it suitable for every case, under 
all circumstances? Or has it only a limited 
scope? These and many other questions will 
naturally come to the reader’s mind, and they 
should all be answered, fully and frankly. 

In the first place, it should be stated that 
fasting is not a “cure-all,” in the sense that it 
will cure every sort of disease known—acute 
and chronic, functional and organic—and it 
is useless to pretend that it will. None of its 
advocates has ever asserted that it does so. 
At the same time, it is probable that fasting 
has a wider range of curative influence than 
any single measure known to us. Few are the 
diseased states it cannot cure, or at least benefit 
to some extent, if employed before there is too 
great organic destruction or change, or loss of 
vitality. 

“Organic diseases” are those in which some 


61 


Fasting for Health 


organ is anatomically defective, and hence can¬ 
not function. “Functional disease,” on the 
other hand, is present when the organ in ques¬ 
tion appears to be perfectly sound, but does 
not function properly. (How far this may 
be due to minute and undetectable physical 
changes is a question which has been much 
debated.) 

Now, of course, in serious organic trouble 
fasting will not cure. In these conditions cer¬ 
tain avenues of elimination will prove inade¬ 
quate to the exacted demands resulting from 
insufficient activity of the diseased organ or 
organs. The vital organs cannot function ex¬ 
cept to a certain limited degree when partially 
destroyed. In these cases the symptoms dur¬ 
ing the fast are likely to be extreme, and one 
is apt to lose courage. It is in these cases 
that the patients are likely to return to foods 
and drugs, and if they do, results will in all 
probability be serious and possibly fatal. 
Elimination must necessarily be extremely slow 
on account of the destruction of organs, and 
convalescence will be much prolonged. Fast¬ 
ing will not restore half a liver or kidney which 
has been destroyed by inflammation, by toxins, 
62 



When to and When Not to Fast 


or by exhaustion of the cells. Neither will a 
heart valve that is shrunken following inflam¬ 
mation ever be made to completely cover the 
opening it originally guarded. 

But fasting will help even in these cases. It 
will aid in purifying the blood stream of cir¬ 
culating toxins, poisons, and the debris result¬ 
ing from cell metabolism; it will aid by the re¬ 
moval of destroyed and diseased cells from the 
organs and structures affected; by facilitating 
repair and, in some instances, by actually re¬ 
placing diseased tissue; by removing encum¬ 
brance which has chronically suppressed or¬ 
ganic activity, thus permitting more nearly 
normal functioning of these organs. In these 
ways fasting can and will help in even organ¬ 
ically diseased cases. 

In nearly all functional cases, fasting will 
be of the utmost benefit, and many are the 
cures that have been effected by its means! In 
all obstructional and so-called “filth-diseases,” 
fasting is naturally the sovereign remedy. 
These diseases disappear under its stern rule 
as if by magic. 

In certain wasting diseases, fasting cannot 
be advised for any considerable length of time; 

63 



Fasting for Health 


but in certain cases of emaciation and general 
debility it has restored the patients to com¬ 
plete health and strength. We must therefore 
study this question a little more fully. 

In the chapter devoted to the physiology of 
fasting, it has been fully explained why some 
of these apparently paradoxical results may 
be obtained. Wasting is not invariably a sign 
of direct starvation; and giving less food may 
be the means of supplying more nutriment to 
the patient in the end. But in tuberculosis, for 
example, wasting occurs very quickly, and 
weight which is lost is with great difficulty re¬ 
gained. Hence, anything more than a very 
brief fast at the beginning of the treatment, 
in order to rid the system of toxic material, is 
not advised in every case, though the long fast 
has been employed with complete cures in some 
carefully supervised cases. 

In the late stages of cancer, fasting cannot 
be expected to do more than relieve immediate 
pain (which it has often done); but in the 
early stage, there is every reason to believe that 
fasting would actually prevent and effectually 
cure this terrible malady, for it has done so 
in several cases, to my personal knowledge. 

64 



When to and When Not to Fast 


Dr. A. Rabagliati, an eminent cancer special¬ 
ist, contended very strongly in favor of fasting 
for the early stages of cancer, and this view 
has been supported by a number of eminent 
physicians since then. And even in later 
stages of cancer, this method offers more hope 
for reduction of the growth and the prolonging 
of life (more comfortable life too) than any 
method known. 

But in certain other troubles, it is only in 
rare instances that fasting will be of value. 
Where there are congenital or developmental 
defects in the adult, fasting will have absolute¬ 
ly no beneficial effect, though there may be 
some tendency to correction in these conditions 
in childhood. Fasting will not be of marked 
value in leaking valves, unless there is a marked 
fatty condition of the heart or decided enlarge¬ 
ment of the organ, with a large amount of 
toxic material in the body; nor will it be of 
pronounced value in aneurism. In pernicious 
anemia, only the partial fast of short duration 
is to be suggested, if at all—never a complete 
abstinence from food—at least at the very out¬ 
set of treatment; and this is usually true of the 
secondary form of anemia as well. 

65 



Fasting for Health 


Where there is brain destruction resulting 
in insanity, the fast is useless; but in severe in¬ 
juries resulting in concussion of the brain, the 
fast is indicated and should continue until seri¬ 
ous symptoms have subsided, mentality is re¬ 
stored, and consciousness is cleared. Also in 
cases of mental disturbance from toxemia the 
fast will prove beneficial. In chorea (St. Vitus 
Dance) there is already an insufficient nourish¬ 
ment which contra-indicates the fast. What 
is needed here is increased nourishment. Hys¬ 
teria and psychoneuroses that are, without 
doubt, due to or aggravated by toxemia, may 
be benefited materially by judicious fasting, 
but all other forms of these conditions are bet¬ 
ter treated by the limited diet or partial fast, 
with later a very nourishing diet, with possibly 
a fast of longer or shorter duration at some 
later time. The same is true, to a considerable 
extent, of melancholia. 

In scurvy and rickets, the same may be said 
—that there is a deficiency which must be sup¬ 
plied at once. In third stage spinal cord 
syphilis, the fast may have a tendency to pre¬ 
cipitate trouble of a very serious nature, which 
cannot be overcome by the continuation of the 
66 



When to and When Not to Fast 


fast. Hence, in these cases it may be safer 
to omit the fast as an initial factor in treatment, 
though in earlier stages of this disease the fast 
is indicated. 

A case of spinal curvature has recently been 
reported practically cured by fasting, but vic¬ 
tims of this deforming condition must not be 
led into false hope that they may also develop 
a perfect spine by this treatment. I am quite 
certain that few cases will make any favorable 
change by this procedure, and that other treat¬ 
ments will be of greater value. 

We have received numerous inquiries as to 
the effect of the fast in conditions of body lice 
and scabies (the itch). We must not expect 
the fast to accomplish the impossible; these 
are typically external insect conditions due to 
uncleanliness or contamination, for which ex¬ 
ternal cleanliness and applications are required. 

Unless the woman is markedly toxic, or suf¬ 
fering from serious functional inactivity of cer¬ 
tain organs, the fast is not advisable during 
pregnancy—at least it should not be used 
promiscuously. 

There are probably other cases in which the 
fast cannot be considered, unless it be a very 
67 



Fasting for Health 


modified partial fast. But the subject of par¬ 
tial fasts is taken up further in Chapter VI. 

But with these exceptions, it may be said 
that fasting is the greatest curative agent 
known to us for the great majority of common 
diseases. One can name comparatively few 
diseases in which fasting, for a longer or shorter 
period of time, would not be beneficial; and in 
fact, in many of them death would soon result 
if fasting were not enforced (as in pneumonia, 
for instance). The medical profession in the 
main acknowledges the fact that fasting is es¬ 
sential in such cases, and yet the philosophy of 
fasting does not seem to have struck them as it 
should. They still labor under the mistaken 
impression that we must eat in order to “keep 
up the strength,” even in diseased states, and 
in spite of the obvious facts of every-day exist¬ 
ence which show us that strength at such times 
is not maintained by food. 

Every “disease” an infant or child may have 
will be checked and its symptoms eliminated, 
and in a short time, too, by the fast, if this 
treatment is introduced without delay, and if 
no poisonous drugs are administered to further 
depress the little body . 

68 



When to and When Not to Fast 


Measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, sore 
throat, croup, whooping cough and, I am con¬ 
vinced, infantile paralysis as well—all require 
an initial short fast as part of the most effective 
treatment regime for the elimination of the 
toxic materials responsible for the symptoms. 
There is not a doubt that this procedure given 
at the very onset of a disturbance, with the 
addition of bowel washings, relaxing elimina¬ 
tive baths, and a plentiful supply of fresh air 
and water, will so hasten reduction of the in¬ 
itial symptoms that a typical “acute infectious 
disease’’ will not develop. It will doubtless be 
horrifying to drug-vending and serum-inject¬ 
ing physicians to suggest “curing” a condition 
before a diagnosis is made or is possible. But 
you will agree that it is better to save the child 
than to save the disease until the diagnosis can 
be made. Headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, con¬ 
vulsions and other disturbances of children also 
respond to the short fast and associated treat¬ 
ment. 

It is a common belief that thin persons can¬ 
not fast to advantage, and that only those 
burdened with a superabundance of fatty tissue 
can fast for any length of time with safety and 
69 



Fasting for Health 


benefit. This, however, is a complete mistake. 
There are many recorded cases in which 
patients who were quite slender and emaciated 
at the beginning of their fasts underwent more 
or less protracted periods of fasting and de¬ 
rived great benefit therefrom. In the classical 
case of Mr. G. W. Tuthill, for example, the 
patient weighed but 105.5 pounds, yet fasted 
for forty-one days with marked benefit—dur¬ 
ing which time he completely cured himself of 
partial paralysis. In the case of Mrs. R. T., 
the patient weighed but 98 pounds clothed, 
yet fasted for eighteen days and was restored 
to a condition of complete health! 

These may be exceptional cases, and pro¬ 
longed fasts are not as a rule advised for per-, 
sons whose weight has been reduced to this 
extent, but they merely show us that the bene¬ 
fits derived from fasting are not limited to nor 
reserved for the obese. 

It must be remembered that the reason for 
extreme emaciation of this character is that the 
patient has not assimilated the food eaten and, 
while he may have been in the habit of eating 
a large quantity of food each day, this food 
has not been utilized. And inasmuch as the 


70 



When to and When Not to Fast 


body derives benefit from the amount of food 
properly assimilated, and not from the amount 
of food eaten, the quickest way to restore the 
body to its normal condition in many cases is 
to place it in such a state that it can utilize the 
food ingested, and, when this condition of 
health has been restored, then the body will 
absorb the food, and health and weight will be 
rapidly restored. 

Fasting is a powerful therapeutic measure, 
and is not a thing to be toyed or played with. 
Unpleasant symptoms may arise while fast¬ 
ing; hut at the same time, in cases where 
needed, a cure is actually going on within the 
body of the patient. Death has even resulted, 
but it is extremely doubtful whether the fast¬ 
ing, as such, was responsible for such deaths. 
X am positive that therapeutic fasting, prop¬ 
erly conducted, never killed anyone. But, of 
course, starvation has killed many thousands 
of people. Note the difference here! 

It has been said that an acid condition of the 
body fluids and tissues (acidosis) is sometimes 
brought about by fasting. I cannot concede 
that this is ever the case, in true fasting. As 
a matter of fact, all the evidence seems to 
71 




Fasting for Health 


prove that, as Dr. Haig expressed it, “fasting 
acts like a dose of alkali.” If there is acidity 
in the system, fasting will remove it, and re¬ 
store the chemical balance of the system. 
Therapeutic fasting never created acidity, but 
on the contrary removes that state when exist¬ 
ing. Of course protracted starvation may do 
so. But then, who ever advised starvation? 

The medical as well as the general idea is 
that starvation begins practically immediately 
when meals are discontinued. The impression 
is that at once the blood and solid structures 
of the body begin to break down, and that or¬ 
ganic destruction has begun. Such is far from 
the case, as results have proven in scores of 
cases. The vital cells of the organs and glands 
—those doing the active physical and chemical 
work of these parts—do not begin to disin¬ 
tegrate until actual starvation, as explained 
elsewhere, begins. Because of the encum¬ 
brance which acts as “brush” to the functioning 
organs, these structures are improved very de¬ 
cidedly in functioning ability by the fast, be¬ 
cause this burden is eliminated. As modes of 
living have been contrary to nature throughout 
the life of practically every individual, it will 
72 



When to and When Not to Fast 


require days and weeks, in most cases, to re¬ 
move this “rubbish,” and not until this is re¬ 
moved will the cells themseves be affected by 
the fast. The opinion has also been expressed 
that the blood is starved and that anemia neces¬ 
sarily results, with the intimation that this pre¬ 
cludes the possibility of later nourishment of 
the tissues. Even in starvation, it has been 
proven, the blood reduces but 17 per cent. In 
the normal, therapeutic fast, it is doubtful if 
half this amount is lost. This can be replaced 
within the first few days after the discontinu¬ 
ance of the fast and is replaced in this time on 
the proper dietetic regime. 

In the case of tumors, it has been thought 
that the tumor grows at the expense of normal 
tissue—as if the tumor were an entity in itself, 
a thing with a soul l A tumor, particularly a 
cancerous tumor, is the result of a high toxicity 
of the blood and the tissues. Toxic material 
is invariably the first eliminated during the 
fast. Cancers and tumors usually reduce when 
not fed from the outside , fibroid tumors ex¬ 
cepted. 

Other arguments have been advanced by the 
medical profession against fasting as a curative 
73 



Fasting for Health 


agent. One of the most curious of these is 
that advanced by Dr. J. H. Kellogg, of Battle 
Creek, Mich. He said on one occasion that we 
consume our own bodies while fasting and, as 
he is opposed to eating meat, he says that we 
are practically on a cannibalistic diet during a 
fast, inasmuch as we are eating ourselves—our 
own bodies! 

But this argument fails to appreciate the 
true significance of the fasting cure. We do 
not, at such times, consume any really valuable 
parts of our own bodies, but only the useless 
portions, which need to be eliminated; we con¬ 
sume the fatty tissue and other relatively use¬ 
less parts; and eliminate, at the same time, all 
the poisonous matter and mal-assimilated food- 
material, which are lying latent in the body, 
and which need to be eliminated, and which are 
really the causes of the disease. Such argu¬ 
ments as the above simply show that the true 
rationcde of the fasting cure has never been 
properly appreciated by those advancing 
them. 

It has been said that fasting is unpleasant 
and uncomfortable. It may be so, to a certain 
extent though far less so than is commonly 
74 



When to and When Not to Fast 


supposed. It has often been pointed out that 
the first two or three days of fasting are the 
only really difficult ones, and that after this 
but little discomfort is experienced by the 
patient. There are many cases on record in 
which the subject has sat at the table, when the 
rest of the family were eating a hearty meal, 
and has not been at all tempted to eat the food 
in front of him. In all cases of severe illness, 
again, a positive aversion to food is experi¬ 
enced. But, even if it be admitted that fasting 
is a little hard on the patient, it must also be 
remembered that it is positively curing him; 
and no method of cure is pleasant at the time— 
but neither is any illness pleasant! It is surely 
better to undergo a few days’ discomfort than 
to have an extremely severe illness or a serious 
operation, and possibly lose a portion of one’s 
body forever; or perhaps to die! And fasting 
has saved many a life, during the past quarter 
of a century. 

The old idea that fasting causes extreme 
weakness is entirely erroneous. In many in¬ 
stances, though the patient may feel weaker, 
a test of actual strength will show a marked 
increase in strength, this being particularly 
75 



Fasting for Health 


noticeable when the patient was weak at the 
beginning of his fast. Strength often increases 
as the fast progresses, and energy seems to be 
added to the body, instead of taken from it. 
As nerve centers lose nothing during the fast, 
it is evident that the tissue lost elsewhere goes 
partly to supply energy to the nervous system. 
Most weakness is due to fatigue poisoning and 
disease. And when these causes are eliminated 
by fasting, the patient's strength increases—as 
many cases of this character have abundantly 
demonstrated. 

It must not be thought, however, that fast¬ 
ing in itself will permanently build up health 
and strength! Right food, exercise, right 
breathing, and a proper, hygienic life alone will 
do this. All that fasting will do is to cure the 
diseased condition which may be present, and 
eliminate poisons from the system, preparatory 
to building it up afterwards. While a short 
fast will probably benefit every one, it is unwise 
to experiment too much in this direction, un¬ 
less some diseased condition is actually present. 
When there is such diseased condition, of 
course fasting is the thing; but otherwise it is 
better to diet and exercise, and to live a whole- 
76 



When to and When Not to Fast 


some, normal, rational life, and forget the body 
as much as possible. 

I do not contend that fasting is the normal 
condition of mankind—since we must eat to 
live (while not living to eat!). And, if we 
did not continually overload the system with an 
excess of food-material day after day, month 
after month, year after year, fasting would 
never be necessary. Were we to eat only 
proper food and only in such quantities as are 
necessary to preserve the body in a state of 
health, fasting of any character would be quite 
unnecessary. It is only when the body has 
become congested and filled with impurities 
resulting from the excess of food and from 
other wrong methods of living that fasting 
becomes urgent, in order that the body may 
purify itself internally. 

Rightly applied and properly managed or 
conducted, fasting is one of the most powerful 
remedial agents known to us; but it should be 
utilized in its rightful place—as a curative, 
therapeutic agent. As such, it cannot be ex¬ 
celled. These general remarks should help 
the student to answer for himself the question, 
“When shall I fast, and when shall I not?” 

77 



Chapter V 


Symptoms. Mishaps and Emergencies 
of Fasting 

ITSTHEN a patient enters upon a protracted 
* * fast—particularly if it is the first one he 
has ever taken—he is liable to experience a 
number of puzzling and alarming symptoms; 
—alarming to him, however, only because he 
does not expect nor understand them. As a 
matter of fact, they are all invariably either 
indicative of the cure that is progressing within, 
or mere symptoms , which will pass away if they 
are properly treated. The former are called 
“crises,” and are well known to those who have 
studied fasting cases. Some of these symp¬ 
toms were noted by Dr. Joel Shew, more than 
half a century ago, and, in writing of them, he 
says: 

“A feverish excitement of the system, to¬ 
gether with a feeling of debility, faintness 
and depression is generally experienced. The 
patient becomes discouraged and melancholic, 

78 


Emergencies oe Fasting 


and is very excitable and sensitive to surround¬ 
ing influences. He also experiences pains and 
soreness in the loins, feet, and sometimes in 
the joints. He becomes very tired of the sit¬ 
ting posture, and leans to one side or the other 
for support. But all these disagreeable symp¬ 
toms, which are necessary in the process, grow 
by degrees less and less, as the morbid matter 
is eliminated from the vital economy. And 
when the body has at last grown pure, these 
unpleasant consequences disappear entirely, 
and the convalescent gains strength with in¬ 
conceivable swiftness through the period of the 
after-cure.” 

All this brings home to us once again the 
necessity for the right mental attitude while 
fasting, and shows us that a contented and 
confident frame of mind is very essential when 
beginning a fast. Without it,, many a fast 
fails; with it, the fast cannot fail when wisely 
applied. 

A. certain feverish condition has often been 
noted after a fast is begun. This is known as 
the “Famine fever,” and physicians usually 
hold this up as an example of the horrible 
things which are liable to happen to one who 
79 




Fasting for Health 


undertakes a fast. As a matter of fact, it is 
merely a curative measure on the part of Na¬ 
ture, like all such symptoms, and is well under¬ 
stood. It represents merely a period of rapid 
oxidation and elimination, and shows us that 
the body is disposing of its effete material 
rapidly. As Dr. Rabagliati said, in discussing 
this point, in his “Air, Food and Exercise” 

(p. 122): 

“Fever and feverishness are . . . due, not 
so much to the starvation, as to the fact that 
for a long time previously their bodies and 
blood had been loaded with waste and unas¬ 
similated materials derived from an excess of 
(even wholesome) food. The fever and fever¬ 
ishness are occasioned no doubt by fasting, but 
not caused by it. . . . If we cannot fast with¬ 
out fever, it is because we have previously been 
improperly fed.” 

But the mere “feeling” of fever is not in¬ 
dicative of an actual rise in body temperature. 
We have noted numerous cases where the 
patients complained of being feverish—prob¬ 
ably “ ‘burning up’ with fever”—where the 
thermometer showed a normal or even a 
slightly subnormal temperature. This is fre- 
80 



Emergencies of Fasting 


quently accounted for by the fact that the 
patient has not been taking sufficient water 
during his diet, and that there is an extremely 
rapid oxidation going on within; also by the 
lessened activity of the skin. Practically in¬ 
variably the drinking of more water will cor¬ 
rect this feeling; the use of friction and cool 
sponge baths will take care of the other few 
remaining conditions—and these baths should 
be used in all such cases. 

Another point which should be observed 
about fasting cures is that they will frequently 
bring to the surface diseases which had been 
suppressed (“cured”) by drugs, years pre¬ 
viously. There are many cases of this kind of 
crises on record, and I have observed several 
myself. If, therefore, the patient has ever had 
any disease which had been suppressed, it is 
quite liable to come to the surface during the 
progress of the fast, either as old symptoms or 
as skin eruptions, or both conditions. But this 
shows us merely that the roots of the diseased 
condition are being destroyed, and after the 
fast has been completed these will be found to 
have been destroyed once and for all. No 
treatment is required for such manifestations 
81 



Fasting tor Health 


on the surface except the exposure of the 
affected areas of the skin to the direct rays of 
the sun and, in some cases, a light covering 
with sterile gauze. The other symptoms will 
quiet naturally. 

Let us now enumerate a few of the other 
symptoms which may be occasionally noted 
during a prolonged fast. Most of these, of 
course, will be observed rarely; some patients 
are not bothered by any of them at all during 
their entire fasts, even in fasts of several 
weeks; others, on the other hand, are. And 
it is with the idea of informing the student or 
prospective patient of all the possibilities of 
“trouble,” that they are listed here—so that he 
will be prepared for these “crises” should they 
develop, either in his own case or in some other 
individual, whose case he may be observing. 
He will then understand what is taking place, 
and will be undisturbed; and he will be able 
to reassure another who is experiencing such 
manifestations. 

Dizziness. This is often noted on arising in 
the morning, or after the patient has been lying 
down during the day. It is usually due to in¬ 
sufficient blood in the brain (though it may 
82 




Emekgencies of Fasting 


sometimes be due to cerebral congestion), 
which is in turn due to the slackened “watch¬ 
fulness” of the nerves of the sympathetic sys¬ 
tem, allowing the large abdominal blood ves¬ 
sels to dilate and receive (by the force of grav¬ 
ity) a larger amount of blood than usual, thus 
leaving the brain without its normal blood 
supply. This condition is usually merely tem¬ 
porary and will soon pass off. If it is lasting, 
however, as is rarely the case, it should be 
treated in the same way that fainting is treated. 
One should be careful, if he has this tendency, 
to arise to his feet only when holding to some 
support, since such dizziness may be sufficient 
to cause him to lose his balance, and serious 
injury may result from a fall. 

Fainting . This is almost invariably due to 
cerebral anemia (lack of sufficient blood in the 
brain), the cause being the same as in dizziness, 
unless there has been this tendency before, due 
to some other underlying cause. It should be 
treated by placing the patient with the head 
lower than the feet, though sometimes merely 
placing him in the prone position will have the 
desired effect. But never lift the patient’s 
head when he has fainted! This can have only 
83 



Fasting for Health 


the effect of aggravating the existing condi¬ 
tion. Loosen the collar or clothing around the 
neck and chest and apply a little cold water to 
the forehead; also rub the patient’s hands (and 
feet if undressed—at least loosen the shoe¬ 
laces), fan his face, and occasionally hold 
smelling salts to the nostrils—not too close, 
however. The patient should revive gradually, 
not rapidly. In other words, if the patient 
does not “come out” of the faint easily after 
being placed in the reclining position, treat the 
faint precisely as fainting under any other con¬ 
ditions should be treated. 

Cramps . Pains in the bowels occasionally 
occur while fasting, though this is rare. When 
they occur they are usually the result of inner 
“crises,” or of a spasmodic contraction of mus¬ 
cles by over-sensitive nerves, or possibly to 
some long-retained fecal content that has been 
broken from its moorings by the fast, or by 
the production of gas from such long-held and 
decomposing bowel content. In a few cases 
they may be brought on by an injudicious use 
of cold water, internally. Many times they 
pass off in a very few minutes, but should they 
remain, however, a warm enema should be ad- 
84 



Emergencies of Fasting 


ministered, and a hot compress applied over 
the abdomen. Gentle kneading of the ab¬ 
domen may also prove beneficial, especially 
after the patient has taken one or more 
glasses of quite warm water. The applica¬ 
tion of the bare, open hand frequently has 
a wonderfully soothing and pain-allaying ef¬ 
fect—especially the hand of another. 

Headaches. I have spoken of these before. 
When occurring on a fast they are usually due 
to an unusually rapid elimination of the effete 
material, which has been re-absorbed into the 
blood stream and thus, through the circulation, 
found its way to the brain. Such headaches 
are most common in those who have been es¬ 
pecially heavy eaters and coffee and tea drink¬ 
ers. Continued fasting will get rid of this 
symptom. Should a headache develop to a 
severe degree, the patient should drink water 
profusely; if there is anxiety, or if the head¬ 
ache is exceptionally severe or protracted, take 
a fairly large enema of quite warm water, and 
apply hot or cold cloths to the head; in some 
cases the cold will be required, in others the hot. 
Manipulate the back of the head and the neck 
if the pain is posterior, or the forehead if the 
85 




Fasting foe Health 


pain is frontal. A hot foot bath sometimes 
works like magic. Sleep is the sovereign rem¬ 
edy for most headaches. Few cases of this 
symptom will develop to the extent where any 
of the above treatments will be required, for 
the ache is usually merely a slightly unpleasant 
sensation, and will pass off unnoticed by most 
fasters in whom it does develop. 

Diarrhea . This is almost an unknown symp¬ 
tom in fasting cases, for the tendency is usually 
all the other way. It can safely be considered 
a “crisis” when it does develop—and to be 
welcomed. If it does appear, however, the 
elimination should be encouraged by taking a 
tepid enema. A warm or cool sitz bath may 
follow the enema. Otherwise, the “let alone” 
plan will be all that will be required; the con¬ 
dition will subside when Nature has done the 
rough but necessary work of her house-clean¬ 
ing. 

A “Bad Taste in the Mouth” This is one 
of the most frequent of symptoms noted dur¬ 
ing a fast, and is largely due to the tainted 
saliva from the rapid elimination going on 
within the body. The mouth should be kept 
clean by frequent washings, and the throat 
86 



Emergencies of Fasting 


should be cleansed by gargles. Salt water, or 
weak lemon water may be used for tbis pur¬ 
pose. The tongue may be “scraped” with a 
tooth brush and water to which an equal por¬ 
tion of peroxide of hydrogen may be added. 
Plenty of water should be taken, also. If this 
condition is due to bad teeth, these must of 
course be attended to at once; otherwise the 
symptoms will subside as poisons are elim¬ 
inated. 

Insomnia. This is also a frequent symptom 
noted to a greater or less degree by fasting 
patients. To a certain extent it is only nat¬ 
ural —since so much sleep is not required; the 
body of the fasting patient is internally rest¬ 
ing and conserving all its energies, which 
would otherwise be used in digesting food. 
Further, the body is not being poisoned by an 
excess of food material—and we know that this 
poisoning is the great cause of fatigue. Less 
sleep is required while fasting, as a rule, though 
there will be some fasting patients who will 
notice a marked increase in ability to sleep 
at least for the first several nights of the fast. 
Should insomnia develop, however, (not mere¬ 
ly the inability to sleep the entire usual number 




Fasting for Health 


of hours for several successive nights), it 
should be treated in much the same way as the 
same condition is treated at any other time— 
by relaxation, suggestion, quiet, air-baths just 
before bed, warming the hands and feet, deep 
breathing exercises, a slightly warm tub bath, 
etc. There are several good books published 
on this subject, and to these the reader is re¬ 
ferred for a discussion of this subject. How¬ 
ever, it is extremely doubtful if the patient 
will be troubled sufficiently in this way to re¬ 
quire any treatment, since a genuine insomnia 
is not a commonly observed symptom of the 
therapeutic fast. 

Retention of the Urine. This is an extreme¬ 
ly rare condition, but it has been observed in 
a few cases. It will not develop if the patient 
is careful from the very beginning of the fast 
to keep the solid elements of the urine diluted 
sufficiently by drinking rather copiously of 
plain water. But should the urine be retained 
for twelve hours or more, and the patient has 
meanwhile taken considerable water, a hot sitz 
bath is suggested, or a hot pack applied to the 
lower part of the abdomen may be used ef¬ 
fectively. Relaxation is imperative, and very 
88 



Emergencies of Fasting 


gentle pressure may be tried while the bath or 
pack is being employed—at the very lower 
point of the abdomen. Should these measures 
fail, and pain ensue, recourse may be had to 
the catheter, which, however, must be inserted 
by a competent surgeon or physician. 

Pain in the Heart, Palpitation , etc. This 
condition developing during the fast is almost 
invariably due to the pressure of gases in the 
stomach, and to other digestive disturbances, 
and so usually will not appear during the fast 
except as a curative crisis. Says X)r. Scho¬ 
field (“Nerves in Order,” pp. 63-4) : 

“To understand what is the matter, we must 
picture the heart sitting on the end of the 
stomach, something like to use a striking il¬ 
lustration—a donkey boy sits on the hinder 
end of his ass; so that when the donkey kicks, 
the boy begins to palpitate on his back. In 
like manner, when the stomach kicks or is 
distended in any way by food, it often sets the 
heart off palpitating; and in this way the heart 
sets the blame while the stomach is the cul¬ 
prit.” 

In fasting, this condition is naturally very 
rare, but if it should appear and develop to a 
89 



Fasting for Health 


disturbing degree the best procedure is to drink 
one or two glasses of quite warm water and sit 
or lie down and relax—keeping composed 
mentally, for it is not a serious symptom. In 
rare cases it may be well to apply a cold wet 
cloth (not iced) over the region of the heart, 
while reclining. The trouble is usually only 
momentary and in any case passes off within 
a short time. 

Abnormally Slow Pulse . The normal aver¬ 
age rate of pulse beat in men is seventy-two 
beats a minute, and in women eighty beats per 
minute. In slow, heavy, phlegmatic individ¬ 
uals, and in certain other types, the pulse is 
inclined to drop below this number of beats 
when fasting, and may go as low as fifty, 
forty-five or even forty or less , without any 
untoward effects whatever. Napoleon was re¬ 
ported to have had a habitually low pulse rate 
—of less than forty. While it is not advisable 
in some cases to allow the pulse to become as 
infrequent as this, I have seen it as low as 
thirty-six while every other sign and symptom 
showed normality. When the pulse beat is 
low in frequency, it is usually practically in¬ 
variably stronger in force, showing that the 
90 



Emergencies of Fasting 


heart is compensating for the lowered fre¬ 
quency of its pumpings by a greater force and 
volume at each pumping. During this period 
of slow pulse, the heart is securing long periods 
of rest between beats, and will come through 
the fast stronger in every way. 

But if a slow pulse is associated with a de¬ 
cided drop in the circulation (manifested by 
increased coldness of the hands and feet, and 
probably by a slight blueness of the lips), or 
an increased tendency to dizziness, or a marked 
reduction in energy and feeling of well being, 
some attention may be given to the symptom. 
Such a condition may he due to debility, but 
may be effected to a great extent by the mental 
and emotional tone of the patient. No atten¬ 
tion is required in any case unless the pulse 
drops to below fifty beats per minute. Very 
mild exercises, deep breathing, etc., are help¬ 
ful. A rather warm bath is one of the surest 
means of restoring the pulse rate, or a hot 
water bottle or hot cloth over the heart region 
may prove effective. Says Dr. Kellogg. 

“The hot hath is the most efficient stimulant, 
in the true sense of the word. It will so excite 
the circulation as to increase the pulse from 70 
91 




Fasting for Health 


to 150 in fifteen minutes.’’ (“Uses of Water,” 

p. 60). 

It would be advisable to always place a cold 
wet towel about the head of the patient during 
this hot bath treatment. 

Suggestion, friction, massage, may also be 
tried. 

Abnormally Rapid Pulse. As the phleg¬ 
matic individuals are subject to a slow pulse 
when on the fast, nervous individuals are in¬ 
clined to the opposite change from normal— 
to a rapid pulse. It is only occasionally that 
an abnormally rapid pulse develops on the fast. 
I have seen cases where the pulse went at the 
merry rate of 140 beats a minute and still the 
patients would complain of no distress nor 
disturbance, only that they were unable to 
relax thoroughly. As this condition rarely 
develops except in those who are “high strung” 
or who have vivid imaginations or who are 
inclined to neurasthenia or neuroses, one can 
quite accurately predict whether or not a cer¬ 
tain case will develop this condition, and so 
be prepared. 

If every other condition save the pulse rate 
indicates a normal condition, and if the patient 
92 



Emergencies of Easting 


is not complaining about the high rate of pulse, 
nothing need be done hut to have the patient 
secure rest and relaxation, for it is not advis¬ 
able for one to undergo any extra exertion 
while the heart is already going like an auto¬ 
mobile engine in low gear. It necessarily 
must be other than advantageous. Ordinarily 
I would want to control the heart beat so as to 
keep it below 120 per minute. When it is 
hovering around this number or is above it, 
steps may be taken to reduce it or to prevent 
it from continuing long at this rate or becom¬ 
ing more rapid. The patient should be made 
to understand (if he is uneasy about it) that 
it will in all probability be of short duration 
and that it can be controlled easily. 

For controlling the rapid pulse a cool bath 
is one of the best measures—but not a cold 
bath! Personally, I have seen very good re¬ 
sults obtained by using water at the temper¬ 
ature of the body—about 99 degrees Fahren¬ 
heit. This gradually withdraws the blood from 
the inner organs to the surface of the body, 
without undue shock. The patient may be 
kept in this bath for a considerable length ot 
time, in order to balance the circulation. Re- 
93 



Fasting tor Health 


suits will determine when the bath may be dis¬ 
continued. The use of a cool wet cloth over 
the heart region is often as effective as any 
other measure—applied while the patient is 
reclining. Suggestion may often be utilized 
to good effect in these cases. A reposeful 
state of mind and a relaxed muscular system 
are to be insisted upon. If the patient should 
become nervous and excited, the pulse will 
tend to rise still higher, and it should be empha¬ 
sized that there is no need for fear—if the con¬ 
dition be understood and treated promptly and 
efficiently. 

Vomiting. This is probably the most serious 
condition which can be encountered in fasting 
cases. In a few instances, vomiting has been 
known to occur on about the fortieth or fiftieth 
day of a fast, or sometimes much earlier; and 
when this occurs it must be treated promptly 
and with vigor. If the vomit i s bright green 
or blackish, the outlook is not so favorable. 

' »■ . . .. .. . . n .mtnr—- Ml ~ ■ 

One or two deaths from this cause have been 
noted. But this condition is very rare, and 
will probably not be encountered once in a 
thousand fasts. As it is confined to the obese, 
a normal or thin person need not fear this 
^ - - 











Emergencies oe Fasting 


symptom. The cause of the trouble is not 
^fjnitely^WvmT but it Ts evlden% a nervous 
retfex phenomeno n, unTess 3ue to or ganic^ 
nfiSESictioh of the intestines or somedegree of ^ 

li^Fcfismtegration. _ 

In case the symptom does develop, the fol- I 
lowing measures should be used: The patient 
should drink freely of hot water, even one or 
two quarts if possible, and even if it is immedi¬ 
ately expelled. This will cleanse the stomach 
and will ease the excited nerves; also it will 
tend to start the peristalsis of the stomach and 
intestines in the normal direction, for in such 
cases there is a reverse peristalsis, the bile 
flowing backward into the stomach rather than 
onward down the intestinal canal. Hot cloths 
may be applied all around the abdomen and 
back. Fresh air and deep breathing will ma¬ 
terially assist in breaking the spell. Sugges¬ 
tion may also be tried. Sometimes these cases 
resist all such efforts to check the vomiting 
unless some liquid such as quite hot water, 
sweetened with strained honey; very thin 
barley water or oatmeal gruel, slightly salted; 
hot water flavored with orange; or some other 
95 












Fasting for Health 


( liquid acceptable to the taste can be taken in 
large quantities. 

The question has often been asked: “Is it 
advisable to break the fast under such circum¬ 
stances ?” Dr. Dewey was strongly opposed 
to this, and he wrote: 

“Taking food into such a stomach is death¬ 
dealing. There is nothing but to make the 
body and mind as comfortable as possible, and 
Nature will cure, if the seal of Death is not 
set.” 

It may be advisable to try to break the fast, 
however, if the vomiting does not stop—even 
though the food be promptly ejected, though 
if a large amount of pleasantly flavored liquid 
is taken as previously suggested this will rarely 
result. Also you will then feel that at least 
you have given this method a trial, and you 
will also have silenced those critics—relatives 
and friends—who will probably insist upon 
this being done! Dr. Dewey tells of a case 
where the fast was broken, the food ejected and 
the fast continued. In this case, however, the 
patient completely recovered, and the natural 
hunger returned, on the sixtieth day of the fast. 
Weakness and Lassitude . There is a dif- 

96 




Emergencies of Fasting 


ference in these symptoms, but as they are usu¬ 
ally associated (in the fast) they are discussed 
together. They are uncommon symptoms, 
though there is a considerable variation as to 
the time they may appear and their degree. 
Usually they appear only at the first few days 
of the fast, to give way to a feeling of increased 
strength and energy. They may appear oc¬ 
casionally for short periods of time throughout 
the fast. They appear most frequently and 
most pronouncedly in those cases where drugs 
have been used in quite large quantities in the 
past—for the suppression of fever and other 
symptoms. They may alternate with (or give 
way to or be preceded by) the opposite symp¬ 
toms of unnatural strength and energy in those 
cases where there have been nervous symptoms 
suppressed by bromides and other 4 'deaden¬ 
ing” drugs. Their appearance is also noted 
in those cases of long-standing self-poisoning 
of a pronounced type; also in cases where the 
nervous energy has been of the "kindling” 
type—unusually strong for a short time, to 
burn out quickly under exertion, either mental 
or physical. They are due, as the case may be, 
to marked elimination of the poison of drugs 
97 



Fasting for Health 


or of toxemia, or to a readjustment of the 
nervous system. But if the patient is of the 
self-centered and introspective type, he may 
bring these symptoms on to a certain degree 
by self-pity and by a doubt concerning the 
fast’s ability to be of benefit to him, or by 
magnifying a simple, insignificant weakness 
or lessened energy. 

It will be seen, then, that it is necessary for 
the patient to be enthusiastic concerning the 
fasting program and the benefits to be derived 
in his case, in order to avoid bringing these 
symptoms about through his own mental atti¬ 
tude. If they appear to a marked degree 
under other conditions, and tarry, then the best 
procedure is to drink a glass or two of water— 
either hot or slightly cool—and to have an 
abundance of fresh air, taking deep breaths all 
the while. A little “stirring about” frequently 
works like magic, and a walk out in the fresh 
air will take care of these symptoms in many 
of these cases. If the patient is bed-ridden 
(from the condition for which he is fasting), 
he can still take the deep breaths in a room 
filled with fresh air, and he can also take 
stretching exercises and some of the tensing 
98 



Emergencies of Fasting 


movements, to slightly stimulate the heart 
action and circulation. A light massage may 
also be taken with benefit. It is rarely desir¬ 
able to take food, unless the natural hunger 
appears—which is not apt to occur without an 
increase in both strength and energy. A com¬ 
plete relaxation, such as is derived in sleep, 
will also be good for these patients, but should 
follow some of the other procedures. If the 
slow pulse or the rapid pulse appears in asso¬ 
ciation with the weakness and lassitude, the 
measures suggested for these symptoms may 
be used, also. Almost invariably such symp¬ 
toms will he of but short duration and are cor¬ 
rected by the above named steps. 

Light-Flashes and Specks Before the Eyes . 
These conditions frequently appear with head¬ 
aches and may be from anemia or congestion 
of the brain, or they may be from nervous irri¬ 
tability, or in cases of toxemia or liver or kid¬ 
ney insufficiency. They may appear at the 
same time or either one may appear separately 
and they may pass off in a few minutes or 
linger for hours. Frequently it is better for 
the individual to be quiet during the time of 
these, though in some cases some physical 
99 



Fasting tor Health 


activity will help to reduce them somewhat. 
In the majority of cases they may be ignored. 

Ringing or Humming in the Ears . Because 
the body is using every avenue of elimination 
to full advantage during the fast, it is not un¬ 
usual for the ear to be clogged with an excess 
of wax. This is the occasion for many cases 
of this symptom, though many others result 
from anemia of the brain and are only tempor¬ 
ary. Where the symptom does not fluctuate 
considerably or disappear after a short time, 
it is usually advisable to put a few drops of 
warm water, warm olive oil or warm glycerine 
in the ear and after a few minutes remove the 
wax. If this has been the cause, the symptom 
will disappear at once. 

Body Odors . Different types of disease pro¬ 
duce different odors of the emanations from 
the skin and these odors will be intensified 
during the fast because of the increased elim¬ 
inative efforts of the body. Rheumatism, 
Bright’s disease, diabetes and many other 
conditions have their own peculiar odor to the 
perspiration, even though this perspiration is 
never more than the invisible perspiration. 
Nothing is necessary in these cases except to 
100 



Emergencies of Easting 


increase the activity of the skin by water and 
friction baths and keeping the body surface 
clean. 

Ether-like Odor of the Breath. This is due 
to the presence of acetone, which is present in 
all the body secretions, particularly during 
some protracted fasts, and indicates a decided 
functional disorder with a breaking down of 
organic matter. This symptom is not espe¬ 
cially favorable and sometimes it is desirable 
to attempt to break the fast—at least, a small 
amount of fruit juice or thin oatmeal gruel 
may serve to end this symptom. 

Delirium.. In some cases where there is a 
very large amount of toxic material or where 
drugs have been used in the suppression of 
nervous symptoms, an active delirium will 
appear during the fast. This is due to the 
very markedly increased elimination or to the 
elimination and re-absorption of the poisonous 
elements, and subsides naturally when suffi¬ 
cient toxins or drug-poisons have been re¬ 
moved from the system. A wet sheet pack 
may prove effective in hastening the reduction 
of this symptom, if perspiration is established,, 
thus quickening elimination. 

101 



Fasting for Heajlth 


Hiccough . This perplexing symptom is 
caused by a spasmodic contraction of the dia¬ 
phragm and sometimes develops on the long 
fast. This is occasionally due to the return of 
bile into the stomach, or to intestinal obstruc¬ 
tions. In itself it is not particularly danger¬ 
ous, except that, if continued for a long period 
of time, it is very weakening, as it prevents 
sleep and produces fear and anxiety. The 
obstruction of the intestines is probably the 
cause of death, usually, in these cases, though 
without doubt a very prolonged attack is capa¬ 
ble, in itself, of producing death. The best 
treatment for this is cold water internally and 
the inducement of vomiting. Hot spinal packs 
(or occasionally cold packs) will also help 
quiet this symptom. Sometimes tapping the 
middle region of the spine will help quiet this 
symptom. 

A belt gradually drawn tighter around the 
waistline will usually cure hiccoughs, when all 
other methods fail. Gradually increase pres¬ 
sure of belt by making it tighter and tighter 
until spasmodic contractions in abdominal re¬ 
gion cease. Sometimes you have to use all 
102 



Emergencies of Fasting 


your strength in tightening this belt to accom¬ 
plish a cure. 

The patient must not think that all or even 
any of these symptoms invariably occur while 
fasting. It is safe to say that no one fasting 
patient will experience more than two or three 
of them during even a protracted fast. They 
are relatively rare —with the exception of diz¬ 
ziness, a bad taste in the mouth, and a lessened 
ability to sleep soundly for the usual length of 
time (though this does not indicate “insomnia,” 
as described in this chapter). And headache is 
quite apt to appear for a short time in those 
who are very toxic or who have been subject 
to this complaint—especially those who have 
been coffee and tea drinkers and heavy smok¬ 
ers or users of headache powders or other pain¬ 
killing drugs. But most patients will be able 
to carry through a long, finish fast without 
disturbance by these symptoms. 

Death. There have been some cases of 
death resulting from the fast—or at least dur¬ 
ing the fast. In every case where post-mortem 
"examinations have been held following these 
deaths, it has been stated that the organic con¬ 
dition was such that death was inevitable 
103 



Fasting for Health 


whether or not the fast was taken, and that the 
fast probably prolonged life to some extent in 
some of these cases. It is not physiologically 
possible for death to appear from starvation 
until forty to fifty percent of the body weight 
has been lost. The therapeutic fast is never 
carried to the point where this great loss is 
suffered. 

It must not be forgotten that a most destruc¬ 
tive force, both mentally and physically, is 
fear. If one fears the disease or the fast, there 
must necessarily be a let-down of the vital 
activities that may result in death. The effects 
of fear are easily seen in those cases of ship¬ 
wrecks, mine explosions, cave-ins, etc., where 
death comes much sooner than could be pos¬ 
sible physiologically, because of the fear and 
anxiety associated with the forced fast. 

In all the thousands of cases where fasting 
has been employed, there have been but 
eighteen deaths reported, according to Dr. 
Linda Burfield Hazzard in “Fasting for the 
Cure of Disease.” Two of these were only 
partially fasting, and in every instance it was 
definitely determined that there was such 
organic destruction or developmental defi- 

104 





Emergencies of Fasting 


rciency of one or more vital organs, that death 
was unavoidable whether or not the fast had 
been taken. Some of these conditions result¬ 
ing in death were extremely severe abdominal 
! adhesions, destructions of. liver or kidneys,. 
syphilis, destruction of the brain, the lungs, or 
the liver, or atrophy of some organ, or marked 
arrested development of the intestines, spleen, 
bladder, heart, lungs or digestive apparatus. 
It was evident that no system of treatment and 
no surgical interferences could have brought 
about recovery in any of these cases, 
i As a proof that these deaths did not result 
from starvation, but resulted from some of the 
above mentioned conditions, it was found that 
in every case there was still considerable sub¬ 
cutaneous fat, which is always entirely absent 
where death has resulted from starvation. 
Also the heart was normal in all cases, except 
where it had never developed sufficiently; 
while in starvation the heart is always con¬ 
tracted or markedly atrophied. The blood 
was also practically normal in amount with no 
real anemia; while in starvation the opposite 
condition exists. The pancreas is little af¬ 
fected, if at all, in death during the therapeutic 
105 







Fasting for Health 


fast; while in starvation-death this organ is 
practically entirely absent. 

The exact cause of the death in fasting is 
not determined, but it is possibly due to the 
failure of some particular vital organ or life 
process, and not through exhaustion of all 
possible nutritive material. If death is ap¬ 
proaching there is rarely any procedure that 
can prevent its appearance, though it is ad¬ 
visable and sometimes necessary, to quiet the 
urgings and entreaties of family and friends, 
to endeavor to break the fast. As this fatal 
ending appears in such a very small percentage 
of the cases, it should not be anticipated if the 
organic condition has been determined before¬ 
hand and found favorable. Nevertheless in 
order to make this book a complete guide to 
the fasting cure, it has been thought well to 
include discussions of all possible symptoms 
and results so that, should any of them arise, 
the student or patient will know what to do. 


106 




Chapter VI 


How Long to Fast-Long and Short 
Fasts and the Partial Fast 

rpHE length of any given fast depends alto- 
gether upon the condition of the patient 
at the time, for we know that the “sicker” he 
is, the longer the fast which will be required 
to cure him. The length of all fasts must be 
determined by Nature, and it therefore be¬ 
comes impossible for us to set up any arbitrary 
rules as to the length of the fast required. Any 
fast of longer than, say, ten days, may be called 
a “complete” or “finish” fast, while one under 
that period may be called a “short” fast. This 
is a rough classification only. 

Now, what are the advantages of a long fast 
over a series of shorter fasts, and vice versa? 
If the system is in a condition where a pro¬ 
tracted period of fasting is needed, in order 
to restore it to health, should one advise one 
long fast, or a series of shorter fasts, broken 
into by alternate days of eating? There is 
107 


Fasting tor Health 


much to be said on both sides of this question, 
for sometimes one seems advisable, and at 
other times, the other. 

It is a fallacy to suppose that the analogy of 
the body to that of the steam engine is perfect. 
In the case of the latter, it is true that regular 
stoking of the fires is necessary; and if no new 
coal is supplied, the fire will ultimately die 
down and go out; but if there is a plentiful 
supply of unburnt coal in the furnace, and this 
coal cannot be properly burned up, owing to 
the fact that the grate is choked with an excess 
of ashes, then the thing to do in order to burn 
up this excess of coal is to rake out the ashes 
and permit a draught of fresh air to pass 
through the furnace; it is useless to pile on 
more coal while the grate remains clogged with 
the ashes below. 

In all diseased conditions this state of affairs 
exists. An excess of ash has accumulated, and 
this must be disposed of before any new fuel 
in the form of food is added. Just how long 
may be required to ensure this cleansing pro¬ 
cess will depend, as before pointed out, upon 
the degree of health, or rather lack of health 
at the time. Nature knows just how long it 
108 



How Long to Fast 


will take to restore the normal condition, and 
we cannot say that such and such a time will 
be necessary in order to ensure this. It is a 
great mistake, therefore, to say “I shall fast 
one week,” or two weeks, etc., as the case may 
be. This cannot be predetermined artificially. 
Only a few days may be needed; and if this 
is the case, natural hunger will return at the 
end of that time. On the other hand, in cases 
of severe illness a much longer time may be 
necessary, and here again Nature will clearly 
indicate the length of time which the fast 
should be continued. And only at the end of 
that time will natural hunger return. 

If we are not really hungry, and we omit 
the meal, what happens? What is lost, and 
what is gained? All that is lost is the amount 
of tissue and heat which that amount of food 
would have supplied. And what is gained? 
The energy which would have been utilized in 
the digestion and elimination of all that quan¬ 
tity of food is saved—and the system is freed 
at that time of much effete and toxic material 
which would otherwise have been to a certain 
extent retained. Not only “floating” toxic 
material, but toxins and drugs deposited in 
109 



Fasting for Health 


various organs and structures are eliminated. 
Inasmuch as all these must be expelled from 
the system before health is restored, the short¬ 
est cut to this end is the most desirable, and a 
“finish” fast best accomplishes this result. 

The long fast is also an excellent diagnostic 
measure in many instances. It uncovers many 
weak points in a body that is disease-ridden 
and plainly reveals the location of organs that 
are defective either functionally or organically. 
Symptoms that have been experienced at some 
previous time, but possibly forgotten, are de¬ 
veloped again on the fast in numerous cases. 

Another reason for taking the prolonged 
fast in place of a number of shorter ones, is 
that the latter method tends to keep the patient 
hungry. Whenever food is eaten the stomach 
activities are stimulated and appetite returns 
at regular intervals. It is well known that the 
first two or three days of fasting are the hard¬ 
est. “Habit hunger” returns with more or less 
vehemence at every meal, but with gradually 
decreasing intensity until, about the third day, 
it will disappear entirely, ‘and thenceforward,! 
until true hunger returns, no craving for food 
will be experienced, and the very thought of 
no 



How Long to Fast 


food may even be repugnant to the patient 
during the intervening days before this true 
hunger actually returns. The length of time 
which it is necessary to fast in order to ensure 
the return of natural hunger varies, of course, 
in each individual case, and no law for this can 
be laid down as generally applicable to all 
cases. This method, then, of alternate fasting 
and feeding is inclined to keep the patient 
constantly hungry and dissatisfied. The old 
adage “Abstinence is easier than temperance” 
applies here. 

Still another reason for indulging in a pro¬ 
longed fast is that the bowels have a chance to 
become thoroughly cleansed, by the abstinence 
from food itself and by the use of the enema; 
whereas in a series of short fasts this is not the 
case. It is often to great advantage to have 
the bowels thoroughly cleansed in this manner; 
and only a protracted fast will effectually 
accomplish this. 

Any fast that approaches two weeks in dur¬ 
ation may be termed a long fast, though many 
of these will extend well into the second month. 

There are certain diseased conditions which 
seem to call especially for the long fast. Many 
ill 



Fasting for Health 


fasts for these conditions have been from thirty 
to fifty days in duration, though all depends 
upon Nature’s indication for the breaking of 
the fast—a normal, true hunger. Those cases 
ordinarily requiring the long fast for the most 
speedy recovery are the deep-rooted diseased 
conditions, such as Bright’s disease, diabetes, 
rheumatism and gout, syphilis and arterioscler¬ 
osis, and asthma in heavy subjects. Other con¬ 
ditions that have responded better to the long 
fast than to any other method of conducting 
the fast are obesity, apoplexy and the paralysis 
resulting therefrom, liver congestion and ab- 
/ scesses, appendicitis both acute and chronic, and 
peritonitis. Cancer and other forms of malig¬ 
nant growths, as well as benign tumors, also 
respond more fully to the long fast than to the 
short fast. Typhoid fever, among acute dis¬ 
eases, calls for the long fast. But if great 
emaciation and weakness have resulted from 
a disease, the duration of the fast will be ma¬ 
terially shortened. Any of the conditions 
mentioned in the short fast and the partial fast 
may in an individual case call for the long 
fast also. 

There are, on the other hand, many things 
112 




How Long to Fast 


which might be said in favor of a series of 
shorter fasts. If the patient is run down and 
debilitated, by a prolonged illness; if he is 
extremly emaciated; if he suffers from tuber¬ 
culosis or some other wasting disease; when the 
body is but slightly indisposed—in these and 
in many other cases a series of shorter fasts 
would be advised. 

The length of the fast, in other words, must 
he gauged very largely by the condition of the 
patient, and by general considerations. Mr. 
Upton Sinclair, who had his first fasting ex¬ 
perience under my instruction, has summed up 
the relative merits of a long and short fast in 
an admirable way, as follows: 

“The questions most commonly asked me 
were: How long should one fast, and how 
should one judge the time to stop? I person¬ 
ally have never taken a ‘complete fast,’ and 
so I hesitate in recommending this to anyone. 
I have fasted twelve days on two occasions. 
In both cases I broke my fast because I found 
myself getting weak and I wanted to be about 
a good deal. ... I was told by Bernarr 
Macfadden, and by some of his physicians, 
that they got their best results from fasts of 
113 



Fasting toe Health 


this length. I would not advise a longer fast 
for any of the commoner ailments, such as 
stomach and intestinal trouble, headaches, con¬ 
stipation, colds and sore throat. Longer fasts, 
it seems to me, are for those who have really 
desperate ailments, such as deeply-rooted 
chronic diseases as Bright’s disease, cirrhosis 
of the liver, rheumatism and cancer. 

“Of course, if a person has started on a fast, 
and it is giving him no trouble, there is no 
reason why it should not be continued; but I 
do not in the least believe in a man’s setting 
before himself the goal of a forty or fifty days’ 
fast as a thing to be played with in that way. 
I do not believe in fasting for the fun of it, or 
out of curiosity. I do not advise people to fast 
who have nothing the matter with them, and 
I do not advise the fast as a periodical or habit¬ 
ual thing. A man who has to fast every now 
and then is like a person who would spend his 
time in sweeping rain water out of his house, 
instead of taking the trouble to repair his roof. 
If you have to fast every now and then, it is 
because the habits of your life are wrong, more 
especially because you are eating unwholesome 
foods.” 


114 




How Long to Fast 


If a patient does not thoroughly understand 
the rationale of fasting, and does not fully 
know what he is doing, it is often advisable to 
try a series of short fasts, instead of one long 
or “finish” fast. This is especially true when 
unpleasant symptoms develop—as they occa¬ 
sionally do (see Chapter V). In such in¬ 
stances it is perhaps advisable to suggest a 
series of short fasts, with periods of very light 
eating between, or a partial fast. 

A short fast begins when you omit one meal. 
“Break-fast” really means that you break a 
short fast of several hours. If you are not 
hungry, it is always a good plan to omit the 
meal, and wait until the next. Nature will 
indicate when you need food, and you will 
probably have a good, healthy appetite when 
the next meal-time comes around unless you 
positively require a fast. If you develop a 
headache by omitting one meal, it is a sure 
sign that you ought to omit not only one meal, 
but several meals, since headache is due to the 
fact that impurities are absorbed into the blood 
stream as soon as your fast has begun, and are 
carried to the brain, giving rise to the headache. 
It is an indication that these impurities are in 
115 



Fasting for Health 


the blood and should be eliminated. The 
thing to do, therefore, is to go on fasting— 
when the headache will disappear, and you 
will be that much better off in consequence, 
eventually. 

If on one day a patient abstains from one 
meal entirely, this is a short fast; but a fast 
that extends for from seven to twelve days 
may still be considered as a short fast. There 
are some conditions of disease which do not 
usually demand a protracted fast, but which 
demand more than the partial fast. These are 
the common ailments, such as catarrh, con¬ 
stipation or diarrhea, headaches, colic, boils, 
superficial abscesses, skin eruptions, neuritis, 
neuralgia, pyorrhea, worms, and the acute 
illnesses with or without fever. This includes 
hives, colds, influenza, tonsilitis, ptomaine poi¬ 
soning, vaccination or serum fever, etc. Tu¬ 
berculosis frequently will respond better after 
the short fast than to a regime that for the first 
few days permits of some nourishment. Hay- 
fever, bronchitis, asthma in thin subjects, 
pleurisy, usually demand the short fast. So 
also do menstrual disorders, pelvic inflamma¬ 
tions, prostatic hypertrophy, impotence, blad- 
116 



How Long to Fast 


der troubles, hemorrhoids and prolapsis of 
pelvic or abdominal organs, and the acute 
infectious diseases — measles, scarlet fever* 
diptheria, etc. 

Realize that you are really much healthier 
and have a stronger body, a better body, and 
a more alert mind on less food than you would 
on more! The less food you eat, the better; 
up to a certain point. Certainly Americans 
are in the habit of eating far too much, and it 
is because of this that they suffer so much from 
various sicknesses and ailments, and that the 
country is so overrun with doctors and hospi¬ 
tals and patent medicines. Get at the root of 
the trouble, and eradicate that. The root of 
the trouble, in nearly every instance, is an 
excess of food waste products, and it is this 
which we should get rid of first. Fasting alone 
does this! 

The proper mental attitude during a fast is 
all-important, as I have already stated. The 
will will be strengthened by fasting and the 
patient will find that he is free from the 
tyranny of the body perhaps for the first time 
in his life. Instead of his appetities ruling him, 
he is ruling them. And as this realization. 

117 



Fasting for Health 


comes to him, he will gain added power and 
self-respect, at the same time that he is gaining 
physical health. 

Many persons of my acquaintance make a 
practice of fasting one day a week and, while 
this is not advisable in all cases, it would cer¬ 
tainly benefit the majority of persons, who 
are in the habit of eating too much. Others 
take a longer fast every year—usually in the 
summer time, and this also is a good practice. 
It keeps the body fit, young, and in good 
health. But these fasts would not be necessary 
if everyone ate only as much as the body actu¬ 
ally needed, of simple, nourishing food. 

PARTIAL FASTS 

Again, others undertake from time to time 
what they call a “fruit fast”—that is, they eat 
nothing but uncooked fruits for several days 
or weeks at a time, as the case may be. As 
a matter of fact, this more nearly resembles a 
diet than a fast, since it has been shown over 
and over again that people can live for long 
periods of time on nothing but fruits—and 
thrive on it too. But the word “fruit” has a 
very wide meaning. The sub-acid, luscious 
118 



How Long to Fast 


fruits contain relatively little actual nutriment, 
while others, such as the banana, the fig, the 
date, etc., are substantial articles of diet. If a 
fruit diet be undertaken as a curative partial 
fast, it is well to bear these facts in mind, and 
choose only the juicy, sub-acid fruits, such as 
the grape, the peach, the pear, the plum, etc.; 
also oranges in any amounts desired. An ex¬ 
clusive diet of these fruits for some time in the 
summer months cannot fail to benefit nearly 
everybody. 

Other partial fast regimes are: 

1. Three meals daily of one orange. If 
bowels need cleansing, eat the orange seeds 
and the white part of the peeling. 

2. One-fourth of a pint of fruit juice three 
times a day, with water as desired throughout 
the twenty-four hours. 

3. From two to four meals of acid fruit or 
berries. Without sugar or cream. Use all 
the water desired. 

4. Two meals a day of one acid and one 
sweet fruit together, from three to six ounces 
at a meal. Water as desired. 

5. One glass of sweet milk or sumik (milk 

119 



Fasting for Health 


clabber) in the morning, another in the after¬ 
noon, with all the water craved. 

6. Three meals a day of one glass of skim¬ 
med milk or buttermilk, with a plentiful sup¬ 
ply of water. 

While most conditions will be as satisfactory 
for the absolute fast, either long or short, some 
individual cases will call especially for the par¬ 
tial fast. These, as will be seen, are to some 
extent a repetition of some of the above, with 
some additional. Perhaps the most prominent 
of these conditions are paralysis agitans, loco¬ 
motor ataxia, goitre, hysteria, melanchola, old 
cases of syphilis with gummatous formations 
or spinal cord affection, pernicious and severe 
secondary anemia, and pronounced cases of 
myocarditis and inflammation and weakness 
of the heart muscle, with probably dilation. 
Other cases frequently calling for this method 
are tuberculosis, catarrh, adenoids, tonsilitis, 
prolapsed organs (either abdominal or pelvic), 
and prostatic hypertrophy in old men. 

In general, it may be said that the long, 
unbroken fast should be employed in severe 
acute and chronic cases, when the patient is 
really seriously ill, and continued as long as 
120 



How Long to Fast 


the patient feels no ill effects or weakness and 
depletion. For minor troubles, a series of short 
fasts or the partial fast will suffice, gauging 
the length of these fasts by the condition of the 
patient, and special considerations which may 
arise. In this connection, the reader should 
refer to the chapters on “How to Break the 
Fast,” and “ Symptoms, Mishaps and Emer¬ 
gencies of Fasting,” etc. 


121 



Chapter VII 


How to Fast 

SCIENTIFIC fasting is much more than 
^ merely “going without food.” There is a 
real science of fasting, which can only be 
learned by prolonged observation and experi¬ 
ence, coupled with a certain amount of per¬ 
sonal experimentation. One must know how 
and when to fast, no less than why, and such 
questions as the amount of exercise, the mental 
and physical activity, water drinking, etc., 
during a fast, all require careful thought. The 
preparation for an absolute fast is also very 
important, as well as the general regime after 
it has been broken. We must now go into 
these questions at some length, and explain in 
detail the various factors which constitute the 
correct conduct of a fast. 

Let us assume that the patient has decided 
that he will enter upon a fast of greater or 
lesser duration, as the case may be; that he 
has some idea of the theory and understands 
122 


How to Fast 


the actual mechanism employed by the body in 
curing himself during this period. If he is 
suffering from any form of acute disease, the 
fast must of course begin immediately, and 
there is no time for any preliminary prepar¬ 
ation. He should on such occasions immedi¬ 
ately omit all solid food, and drink a plentiful 
supply of cool water, following this by thor¬ 
oughly opening the pores of the skin, flushing 
the bowels, etc. This general advice is appli¬ 
cable practically to every case of acute disease 
and the fast should he continued at such times 
until natural hunger returns, which will only 
be after the disappearance of at least all the 
serious symptoms of the original malady. 

In cases of chronic disease, however, or 
where a fast is undertaken for the purpose of 
ridding the system of impurities, or eliminat¬ 
ing some unpleasant set of symptoms, a few 
days of preparation may he advisable. Avoid¬ 
ance of abrupt transition from the regular 
diet to a state of complete fasting will tend to 
make the fast much easier, thus preventing 
any unnecessary shock to the system. 

A very good rule to follow, for one accus¬ 
tomed to an ordinary “mixed” diet, would be 
123 



Fasting for Health 


to omit all meat from the meals for two or 
three days, thus withdrawing the most stim¬ 
ulating food. During this period the patient 
will automatically restrict himself to a vege¬ 
tarian diet, but he should not make the mistake 
of thinking that he should eat more in conse¬ 
quence, since he should begin at the same time, 
to restrict the quantity of food eaten, and re¬ 
duce from three daily meals to two, or, if three 
meals are eaten, two of these should be ex¬ 
tremely light. At the end of three days, say, 
the patient may, with considerable benefit to 
himself, pass on to an exclusive fruit diet. 
Pears, peaches, plums, grapes, apples, oranges, 
bananas, figs, dates, etc., may be eaten at such 
times, either singly or in combination, grad¬ 
ually eliminating all except the fresh juicy 
fruits. The effect of this diet is to cleanse the 
system by reason of the slightly antiseptic 
qualities of the fruit juices, and by their laxa¬ 
tive action upon the bowels. As this diet is 
non-stimulating in character, it will also enable 
the patient to pass very easily to the complete 
fast at the end of a few days, when it will be 
found that he can do so with relative ease. 

Another benefit to be derived from this 


124 



How to Fast 


preparatory program is that vegetables and 
fruits contain large quantities of mineral salts 
and vitamines, which are lacking in the ordi¬ 
nary “mixed” diet. If a patient began a pro¬ 
tracted fast without supplying these elements 
in abundance, the body throughout the fast 
would suffer to a certain extent from their 
lack; whereas if considerable quantities of them 
are supplied, in the form of fruits, salads, etc., 
during the days immediately preceding the 
fast, the body will acquire a surplus upon which 
it can draw, and which will keep it supplied 
with these necessary elements while the fast is 
progressing. 

Our ordinary diet is deficient in these essen¬ 
tial elements, but recent investigations have 
shown that they must be supplied to the sys¬ 
tem in some form or another, if health is to 
be maintained. Vitamines are supplied chiefly 
by fruits, grains, milk and the green leaves of 
vegetables, and these should form a part of the 
diet in order to insure perfect health and nutri¬ 
tion. When the body is suffering from their 
lack, the benefits to be derived from fasting 
may be offset to some extent, and it is conse¬ 
quently very important that the body should 
125 



Fasting for Health 


be well supplied with these elements at the be¬ 
ginning of the fast, in order to insure the best 
possible results. Many fasts have been suc¬ 
cessfully conducted, however, where the only 
preparation was from one to three days of 
acid fruit and fruit juices only. 

The first days of the fast are, of course, 
the most difficult. Not only does the body 
crave food at stated and regular times, by 
reason of long-continued habit, but the mind 
likewise becomes restless and continues to 
remind the patient that food would be relished. 
One never realizes until he begins a fast how 
important a factor is food in life, mental as 
well as physical. As long as the body is being 
continually nourished, one does not think of 
food to any great extent, but as soon as it is 
withheld, it begins to occupy an important part 
in the mental life; and one finds a constant 
tendency to think about food and to anticipate 
even at the very beginning of the fast the day 
when abstinence will terminate and when eat¬ 
ing will again become possible. 

This tendency of the mind to revert to and 
concentrate upon the previous habit of promis¬ 
cuous eating, this craving of the body, can only 
126 



How to Fast 


be overcome by immediate distraction of atten¬ 
tion, by the exercise of will power, and by 
drinking a glass or two of water, which tends 
to alleviate the immediate “gnawing” symp¬ 
toms. These will probably develop in the 
neighborhood of the stomach. These sensa¬ 
tions are produced by the rhythmic activity of 
the muscles in and about the stomach, and are 
present when food is first withheld and when 
the thought of food enters the mind. As soon 
as this thought is banished, these rhythmical 
muscular contractions (known as the “peris¬ 
taltic action”), soon subside and after a little 
time these acute sensations of hunger will pass 
off, possibly to occur again later, at about the 
next regular meal time. A repetition of the 
water drinking and prompt distraction of at¬ 
tention will again dispose of these, however, 
and after two or three days it will be found 
that the symptoms entirely disappear, and wdl 
not again return until the return of natural 
hunger at the conclusion of the fast. 

One of the greatest obstacles which must 
be overcome by practically all those who under¬ 
take a fast is the anxiety and persuasion of 
over-solicitous relatives and friends, who in- 
127 



Fasting for Health 


variably endeavor to tempt the patient to break 
his fast, under the impression that he is “injur¬ 
ing” himself, that he is “starving” to death, etc. 
These persuasions become very strong and in¬ 
sidious after the first few hours and unless the 
patient has enough will-power to overcome 
them, and to continue the fast for at least 
three days, he will find that he is very apt to 
“fall by the wayside” and partake of some 
“tempting dish” which has been prepared for 
him, when, of course, the fast is immediately 
broken, and hunger will return again as usual 
at the next regular meal time. After the first 
few days have been successfully passed the 
patient will frequently find that he can sit at 
the table with others who are eating and will 
not be in the slightest degree tempted by the 
food which is heaped upon the table before him. 

One never realizes, perhaps, the great quan¬ 
tity of food (very largely useless!) which is 
consumed in the course of a month or so by an 
ordinary individual. If one has fasted thirty 
days, and thinks of the quantity of food which 
would have been consumed in that length of 
time, it is astonishing to discover that one has 
got along very well without it, and that 
128 


one 



How to Fast 


is still alive and just the same person as before! 
When one considers the enormous amount of 
energy which would have been consumed in 
the digestion and conversion of this mass of 
food-material, and considers that this energy 
has consequently been available for purposes 
of cure, the enormous benefits derived from the 
fasting system begin to dawn upon the mind; 
and to these must be added the fact that the 
body has, meanwhile, entirely rid itself of su¬ 
perfluous fatty tissue and poisonous material 
of all kinds, which had for years been accumu¬ 
lating within the system! 

There is a common belief that the patient 
should remain indoors, and perhaps in bed, 
throughout a fast of any duration. This idea 
is entirely erroneous, and is based on the belief 
that we derive our strength and energy directly 
from the food that we eat. A certain feeling 
of languor may be present during the early or 
later days of a fast, but it has been frequently 
noticed that strength increases as the fast pro¬ 
gresses, so that a patient may he so weak he 
can hardly walk down a flight of stairs at the 
beginning of a fast, and may be walking four 
or five miles a day after fasting thirty or more 
129 



Fasting for Health 


days! Dr. Dewey reports several cases of this 
character in his published works, and the 
author has seen a number in his own extended 
experience. 

Certainly this would appear impossible if 
we derived our strength from food in the direct 
manner commonly supposed. If the bodily 
energies were directly dependent upon the 
chemical combustion of food, and that only, 
it would be inconceivable that a man would be 
stronger at the end of a protracted fast than 
he was at its beginning. Yet such is some¬ 
times the case. All this seems to show us that 
weakness, lassitude, and fatigue depend upon 
poisons present within the body which affect 
the nerves and muscles, rather than upon the 
lack of food. And that when we eliminate 
these poisons, and the nerves and muscles 
regain their normal healthy condition, the 
strength increases in exact proportion. 

Of course all this is not saying that a great 
amount of strenuous exercise should be taken 
by anyone undergoing a fast. As a general 
rule only a moderate amount of light exercise 
should be taken, and if the patient feels weak 
or exhausted at any time during the day, he 
130 



How to Fast 


should lie down and relax until he feels to 
some extent refreshed and invigorated. The 
mental factor is, however, very important here. 
Frequently a patient will feel “tired” in the 
morning, or at some time during the day, and 
will feel that he is too weak to get up and move 
about actively. If, however, he forces himself 
to do so, he will almost invariably find that as 
soon as he moves about this feeling of weak¬ 
ness will disappear, and that an added sense 
of strength will result. 

Deep breathing and an abundant supply of 
water will often assist in this reaction. Dr. 
Tanner tells us that on the seventeenth day 
of his Chicago fast he felt very weak and 
exhausted, but that after drinking plentifully 
of water he felt completely rejuvenated, and 
continued the fast for more than twenty days 
longer. 

It cannot be too constantly emphasized, 
however, that while this improvement is noted 
in cases of fasting for the recovery of health 
—especially during a severe illness—this feel¬ 
ing of weakness is very real during starvation , 
and that no feeling of returning strength will 
be experienced at such times, since the system 
131 



Fasting for Health 


is being constantly depleted by the loss of 
vital energy and healthy tissue. If a patient 
is not really ill when he begins his fast, he will 
of course experience a feeling of weakness 
very quickly, and this weakness is real . This 
point has been frequently emphasized in the 
present book, but it is very important that it 
should be clearly understood by the reader, so 
that he may have no false impression as to the 
nature of the fasting method here advocated. 

Some people have become so enthusiastic 
over the subject of exercise that they have the 
impression it will cure almost every imaginable 
ill or disease, or that it should invariably be 
included in a curative regime, or that work 
can be continued uninterruptedly throughout 
a fast. Needless to say, such ideas are wrong 
and may lead one into grave trouble. During 
the partial fast or occasionally during the short 
absolute fast no reduction of physical activity 
is required, but in nearly all cases the exercise 
should be reduced after from the third to the 
fifth day of the fast—and in many cases there 
should be practically none, except those light 
ones given at the end of this chapter in the 
specimen daily program. 

132 



How to Fast 


Walking is the best form of exercise for the 
fasting individual, if not confined to bed with 
the original condition for which the fast is 
taken; but some stretching, resisting, and tens¬ 
ing exercises may be taken when there is a 
desire for more general activity than walking 
allows. Stretching exercises should be a part 
of the daily program, and these are especially 
valuable when a feeling of lassitude develops, 
which not infrequently happens. 

I recently received a letter from a man who 
had fasted seven days and during all this time 
handled a pick and shovel for nine hours daily. 
This might indicate that any one could exercise 
more than we recommend here, but I am sure 
such exertion might prove harmful or even 
disastrous to most fasters—especially so if not 
accustomed to vigorous exercise of this type. 
Much depends upon the presence and degree 
of “muscle hunger” in many cases, upon the 
absence of marked contra-indications to exer¬ 
cise, previous habits of exercise, and the effects 
of exercise, as to how much exercise can be 
taken during the fast, but moderation is abso¬ 
lutely necessary in all cases. 

As action and reaction are everywhere evi- 
133 



Fasting for Health 


dent, and as the human machine requires its 
quota of reaction from activity, it is essential 
that sufficient rest be taken at all times, but 
this is even more necessary during the fast — 
more so in some cases than others, naturally. 
There should be a balance between activity and 
rest, between exercise and relaxation. There 
should be eight hours of rest in bed, even 
though all these hours are not spent in sleep. 
At certain times during the day (when it is 
evident that activity is not indicated for the 
removal of the feeling of weariness and lassi¬ 
tude) rest should be secured, and it is advisable 
to spend all the rest time possible out of doors. 
Mother Earth gives valuable “magnetism” 
that can be secured by lying on the ground and 
in the sunlight when the weather is favorable. 
But comfortable chairs can be arranged where 
there will be an abundance of fresh air and still 
not too much of the breeze, when the weather 
is less pleasant. 

After each period of activity one should rest. 
In resting, it is necessary that the body be 
relaxed. It may require conscious attention 
to each group of muscles to insure this, but 
it is important and should be observed; for it 

134 



How to Fast 


is only during relaxation that the best results 
are secured from resting. Many people are 
constantly on a tension and fail to secure the 
proper recuperation during what they call rest. 
Two periods of from half an hour to an hour 
should be all the time required for reclining 
rest during the day if the body is released from 
tension during these periods. 

It is advisable for the patient to remain out 
of doors as much as possible throughout a fast. 
The invigorating effects of fresh air are very 
marked at such times. The patient may be¬ 
come very sensitive to close and stuffy air, and 
will probably perceive ordors which he cannot 
appreciate or notice at other times. The sense 
organs become very acute when fasting, and 
sight, hearing, and smell become extremely 
keen during a protracted fast. The vital and 
life-giving radiations of the sun also seem to 
have a remarkable effect upon the patient 
and there is no doubt that the mental stimula¬ 
tion derived from an outdoor atmosphere is 
also appreciable. The patient should, there¬ 
fore, spend as large a part of each day as pos¬ 
sible in the open air, and see to it that plenty 
of fresh air is admitted at night, adding an 
135 



Fasting for Health 


extra number of bed clothes if necessary in 
order to maintain a feeling of warmth. 

The activity of the skin is greatly increased 
during a fast, and sun and air baths should 
also be taken in warm weather whenever pos¬ 
sible. Inasmuch as the body at such times 
makes use of every possible avenue of elimina¬ 
tion, the sweat-glands pour out their secretion 
in added quantity, and the perspiration carries 
with it a large amount of waste material which 
is in this way excreted. But it must not be 
forgotten that there are destructive chemical 
rays from the sun, and that care must be ob¬ 
served to avoid over-exposure, either in the 
nude sun bath or while sitting or lying about 
in the sun, dressed. Sun baths may easily be 
taken through the open window of one’s room 
if other facilities are denied one. 

Frequent bathing of the skin with warm or 
cool water is advisable in some cases, and the 
skin may be bathed daily throughout the fast 
with benefit. The sponge or wet cloth bath 
may be sufficient in many instances, and there 
is a decided stimulation from the bath with the 
wet hand, particularly if taken with friction by 
the hand at the same time. If the skin is at 
136 



How to Fast 


all chilled, it is not advisable to attempt cold 
baths, and even tepid water may be too chilling. 
Hot baths will open the pores of the skin and 
greatly assist in the elimination of impurities, 
and at the same time soothe the sensitive nerve- 
ends at the surface of the body. When the 
skin is kept active in this way, the work which 
has been thrown upon the internal organs 
(liver, kidneys, etc.) is lessened, and internal 
congestion is thereby decreased, while the fast 
is at the same time shortened to that degree. 
But as hot baths can be continued to the point 
where they are very weakening, it is advisable 
to use care in the degree of heat used and in the 
length of the bath, also in the frequency of 
such baths. In all cases where at all possible 
the hot bath should be followed by a short cold 
(or cool) bath, in order to counteract the weak¬ 
ening tendency. 

The activity of the skin should be encour¬ 
aged in some cases. Turkish baths may be used 
if the patient is strong enough to benefit by 
them. Atyet sheet packs are also advisable in 
some instances, but care must be taken to see 
that the body is warm while in these packs; 
the hot water bottles may be used here, also, 
137 



Fasting for Health 


if necessary, in order to bring about a reaction 
and an increased skin activity. 

Of course, if the patient is very weak and 
is, as we say, “sick in bed,” these general rules 
cannot be applied—since the patient may be 
too ill to walk about, or to take the various 
baths, or to follow the general hygienic meas¬ 
ures outlined. The utmost we can do for such 
patients is to allow Nature to slowly restore 
the strength, while assisting her to the best of 
our ability by stimulating the various channels 
of elimination into greater activity, using care 
not to attempt so much that further weaken¬ 
ing results. 

But fasting will usually accomplish the de¬ 
sired results without these added aids, and it 
should be borne in mind that it is frequently 
of greater benefit to the patient to be “left 
alone”; the policy of “hands off” is a good 
policy to be guided by to the fullest extent 
possible. 

Water drinking should be encouraged, but 
not forced on the faster, and a plentiful supply 
of fresh air should always be admitted to the 
room or quarters; but the surface of the body, 
particularly the feet, should be kept warm, hot 
138 



How to Fast 


water bottles being used for this purpose if 
necessary. 

The temperature of the water taken into the 
stomach should be gauged by the condition of 
the patient to some extent—just as the temper¬ 
ature of the external baths and compresses 
should be gauged by the condition of the skin 
and the patient’s reactive ability. If the con¬ 
dition of the patient’s stomach is such that it 
can react rapidly, cold water is preferable; but 
if the temperature and the pulse are low and 
the patient’s instinct establishes a preference 
for hot water, this may be allowed and will 
prove beneficial, at such times. Ik is never 
permissible to drink ice water, for-it is too 
chilling for even the hardiest faster, and may 
cause considerable discomfort. The drinking 
of water during the fast hastens metabolism 
and decreases the length of the fast to a con¬ 
siderable extent. 

Very often during a fast a patient will be¬ 
come highly sensitive to the taste of water. 
He will detect in it all kinds of flavors, usually 
metallic, or “fishy,” which he had not before 
noticed in water from the same source, when 
his senses were less acute. Ordinary tap water 
139 



Fasting for Health 


will often arouse a feeling of nausea during a 
fast, and the patient must have provided for 
Jbim~<ither distilled wate r, spring water, or 
water j yhich has been ca rLfu^>^~ hG U£d ....a ^^ 
filtered. Even here, however, an unpleasant 
tasteTs frequently noticed, but this may usu¬ 
ally be obviated by squeezing four or five 
drops of lemon juice into the water and thor¬ 
oughly stirring the water. This will give a 
very slightly acid flavor and will remove the 
unpleasant taste previously noticed. The pa¬ 
tient should avoid this addition to the water if 
possible, but if necessary to use it there should 
be care not to use too much lemon juice; for 
the excessive fruit juice may have a tendency 
to stimulate the stomach into a certain degree 
of activity, and this will in turn tend toward 
a revival of its “hunger” cravings, and hence 
to a premature breaking of the fast. Prepared 
water may be kept cool for use by placing it 
in an earthenware pitcher or other vessel which 
is wrapped in a wet cloth and kept in the cool¬ 
est place in the house, except the ice box, if 
the weather is warm. 

It is usually desirable that the bowels be 
kept open throughout the fast by the use of the 
140 









How to Fast 


enema—using for this purpose two or more 
quarts of warm water, to which a level tea¬ 
spoonful of salt may be added for each two 
quarts. It is a remarkable fact that many 
patients have been enabled to .remove material 
from the bowels after a thirty or forty-day 
fast, and that every day during that period 
material results had followed this flushing 
process! The blood continually supplies ref¬ 
use material to the alimentary canal, which 
accumulates in the bowels as the fast pro¬ 
gresses. If the bowels are kept thoroughly 
flushed, as advised, with an enema daily or 
every alternate day, it will tend to facilitate 
the curative effects of the fast, and will leave 
the patient in a far healthier condition than 
will be the case were he to fast without this 
cleansing of the lower part of the alimentary 
tract. 

This does not apply to all cases, however. 
I have known many cases in which the enema 
was not used and satisfactory benefits were 
secured—even in cases in which the bowels 
would not move for many days. But I think it 
advisable to make use of the enema in practi- 
141 



Fasting for Health 


cally all cases, and daily if strength permits 
—otherwise every second day. 

One of the most efficient methods of taking 
the enema is by assuming the knee-chest posi¬ 
tion. This position is taken in this manner: 
First take a position on “all-fours”—on the 
knees and hands; then keep the knees and hips 
in approximately the same position while bend¬ 
ing the elbows and lowering the chest to the 
couch or floor or table, wherever the enema is 
to be given. This position allows the water to 
enter the rectum easily and by the force of 
gravity to enter naturally the descending colon 
and the transverse colon and, if enough water is 
taken, to traverse this section of the colon and 
flow down the ascending colon when the posi¬ 
tion is changed to lying down or sitting up. It 
is usually advisable to take a position on the 
back, with hips somewhat elevated (simply by 
the muscular action of raising the hips) for a 
moment or so, and then to he on the right side 
or sit erect until time to expel the water and 
its product. 

If there is marked weakness and this method 
is undesirable, the patient may lie on the left 
side while taking the enema. The water should 

142 



How to Fast 


be allowed to enter very slowly and by gravity 
only. This may be retained for two or three 
minutes and then expelled. In some cases 
where it will prove of benefit, this may be 
followed by a much larger enema, employing 
three or four quarts of water. The patient 
should lie first on the left side, then on the 
back, and finally on the right side; or he may 
lie on the right side immediately from the left 
side. This change of position is to permit the 
water to reach every part of the colon (or large 
intestine). In this way the greatest benefit is 
derived from the use of the enema, for it in¬ 
sures a thorough cleansing of the bowel. 

Let me here repeat again that the right 
mental attitude when fasting is important. If 
the patient believes in the fasting cure, and 
understands that he is deriving benefit from 
it, he will not, as a rule, experience many of 
the unpleasant symptoms which invariably 
manifest themselves when fasting has been 
undertaken under compulsion. The patient 
should realize that every minute of the fast is 
ridding his body just to that extent of the 
causes of his disease, and that while the period 
of fasting may not be pleasant, it is never- 
143 



Fasting foe Health 


theless actually curing him, and incidentally 
may be prolonging his life for many years. 
It will be found that even long fasts can be 
undertaken with practically no unpleasant 
feelings if the patient really understands this, 
and it is a remarkable fact that his strength 
and energy seem to be largely dependent upon 
his attitude of mind. There are many cases 
on record of individuals who have actually 
starved to death within a few days when lost 
in the jungle, or shipwrecked, for example. 

Physiologically this would have been an 
impossibility! They could not have starved 
to death within that short period of time. It 
was their own mental attitude which killed 
them. We know that this can be carried to 
such an extent that death may be practically 
instantaneous—as, for example, when a man 
reads a surprising telegram and drops dead 
from shock. Here his mind and his emotions 
have acted so powerfully that they have pro¬ 
duced immediate death, and it is doubtless true 
that these depressing emotions of fear, worry, 
etc., may wear on the body to such an extent 
that they really do produce premature death; 
while on the contrary the happier emotions — 

144 



How to Fast 


hope, courage, faith, etc. —will stimulate the 
body to continued activity, and they seem to 
supply it with an added source of power. 

The faith and the belief of the patient are, 
therefore, essential factors in all cases of fast¬ 
ing, and it is because of this that he should be 
familiar with the theory of the treatment and 
to some extent, at least, with the literature of 
the subject before he undertakes an extended 
fast. Well-meaning friends and relatives are 
frequently the greatest obstacles to the fast 
which the patient has to encounter, since they 
will constantly endeavor to persuade him to 
eat a little something to “keep up his strength” 
and, if he refuses, sometimes threaten to have 
him examined by a mental specialist to see 
whether he is altogether of sound mind! Many 
a fast has been broken before it should have 
been, merely to please well-intentioned rela¬ 
tives, and at such times the patient has invari¬ 
ably injured himself by failing to wait for the 
return of natural hunger, lack of which return 
Nature indicates very clearly by showing her 
repugnance for food, by producing nausea, or 
even by forcibly expelling the food which has 
been swallowed. 


145 



Fasting tor Health 


The patient who believes in fasting, how¬ 
ever, and who is permitted to continue his fast 
under more or less normal conditions, should 
see to it that his mind is kept occupied and 
busy throughout the waking day, when he is 
not consciously relaxing. Frequent short 
periods of rest may be very beneficial during 
a fast, since the body is under a great strain 
in curing itself from some seriously diseased 
condition and repairing the damage which had 
been done before. There is no doubt that there 
exists a repugnance for food and a strong in¬ 
stinct to fast in all seriously diseased states, 
and this indication on the part of Nature 
should be accepted as a clear proof that food 
at such times is not necessary. Don’t forget 
that all animals, when ill, refuse to eat; and 
this is true even when they have been injured 
by accident, etc. Dr. Oswald observed the 
case of his own dog who fasted for twenty- 
two days after having had a leg and several 
ribs broken, though food was placed within 
his reach every day throughout that period. 
On the twenty-second day he ate ravenously 
what was placed before him. He was restored 
to perfect health. This merely shows us that 
146 




How to Fast 


there is a very powerful protective instinct in 
animals, and even in us perverted human 
beings there is still a strong defensive instinct. 
It should clearly prove to us that fasting is 
Nature’s own law of cure; that nothing but 
benefit will result by following this natural 
instinct which has been so deeply implanted 
within us. Fasting is Nature’s Law of Cure, 
and those who follow it are merely obeying 
the guidance of Nature herself. 

Daily Regime 

It is impossible to outline a daily regime that 
can be followed in detail by all fasting patients, 
owing to the various classes of patients who 
will use this method of cure. There will be 
patients who are free from occupation every 
hour of the day and who can devote all their 
attention to the business of getting well; there 
will be others who will of necessity have to 
work several hours a day. But the regime 
given here is meant to guide the fasting pa¬ 
tients in filling in their spare time to the best 
advantage—that the fast may be productive 
of greatest good. 

On awakening, it is best to take the stretch- 
147 



Fasting for Health 


ing exercises. These consist merely of stretch- 
every member of the body to the extreme, as 
well as every muscle of the body. First stretch 
the body as a whole, while reclining; then indi¬ 
vidual members of the body; then slightly raise 
the head and turn it in all directions; then sit 
up and rotate the body fully to each side; then 
bend forward and try to touch the toes, so as 
to stretch the back; also raise the hips as high 
as possible to stretch the abdominal musefes. 
These exercises (at least part of them) can be 
taken even by bed-fast patients. Those with 
hernia and prolapsus of abdominal organs 
can take all the above, but should be careful 
in taking the abdominal stretching exercise. 
Tensing exercises are also excellent to stimu¬ 
late the heart and circulation, but must be 
followed by a brief period of relaxation. 

Then get out of bed and stand before an 
open window to take the breathing exercises. 
Breathe as deeply as possible without strain, 
and rise on the toes to stretch the body again. 

Either before these breathing exercises or 
immediately after, one or two glasses of water 
should be drunk—slowly. It would be better* 
148 



How to Fast 


perhaps, to take water before and after the 
exercises above. 

The bath may be taken now or later during 
the day—at any time most convenient. 

If time permits, a walk should now be taken 
—out in the air, of course. During this time 
it is advisable to repeat the deep breathing 
exercises as much as possible while walking; 
at least the deep breaths should be taken dur¬ 
ing this walk. Keep the mind occupied with 
something other than the fast; study Nature in 
some of its many forms, observe the things 
and the people about you, and make mental 
analysis of everything you observe. Get 
pleasure as well as benefit from the walk— 
don’t take it merely as a dose of medicine. 
Make this walk long enough to do you good, 
but not long enough to exhaust you. A little 
fatigue will not be harmful. If the walk is 
long enough to demand it, drink some water. 

On your return, drink some more water. 
Then do any of the little things you may have 
to do, or read. Sewing, kitchen work, shop 
work—anything can be done that doesn’t 
weaken. 

Take a few more deep breaths, walk about 

149 




Fasting for Health 


a little and then lie down for a little while, if 
desirable—after drinking more water. 

Now would be a good time for the enema, 
though this may be taken instead of the bath 
in the earlier morning, or it may be taken in 
the late afternoon. 

If you feel like it, it will do no particular 
harm to go to some show in the afternoon, if 
you happen to live in the city. But it is better 
to spend all the time possible out of doors— 
and theatres are not ventilated sufficiently to 
remove the exhalations of their hundreds of 
patrons. 

If you have a yard or a garden, “potter 
around” in that for an hour or so. Dig in the 
earth a little or dissect some plants, or water 
the flowers or vegetables. Keep the mind busy 
and the body as busy as possible without weak¬ 
ening it. 

Take a friction bath and some deep breaths; 
and retire early. 


150 



Chaptee VIII 


How to Break the Fast 

I N the chapter dealing with the physiology of 
fasting, it was stated that Nature will al¬ 
ways indicate when the “finish” fast should be 
broken, and this is a most important fact to 
hear in mind. It is a mistake to suppose that 
we can set a definite time beforehand when the 
fast should be broken, for Nature will desig¬ 
nate the time by a series of symptoms which 
will be unmistakable. These symptoms are: 
The spontaneous cleaning of the tongue, the 
sweetening of the breath, the return of the 
normal pulse and temperature, the sense of 
rejuvenation and buoyancy, the increased cir¬ 
culation of the blood on the surface of the body, 
the return of natural hunger, etc. These 
symptoms should be waited for in a “finish 
fast before the fast is broken, and the fast 
should never be broken before the appearance 
of these symptoms or some of them. The 
premature breaking of the fast will often rob 
151 


Fasting for Health 


you of the results of your long period of 
abstinence from food. 

It must be remembered that, so long as the 
fast is progressing normally, the internal 
cleansing of the body is also proceeding, and 
the various contributory factors producing 
disease are being eliminated. Until this pro¬ 
cess is completed, and Nature signals her de¬ 
sire for food, no food should he taken . 

One of the most important points to bear 
in mind in this connection is that normal 
hunger is only partially felt in the stomach. 
It is not a gnawing or “all gone feeling,” 
which is commonly thought to denote hunger. 
Normal hunger, like normal thirst, is mani¬ 
fested by a craving throughout the body, and 
particularly in the throat and mouth. The 
stomach sensation is only a contributory im¬ 
pression in this general feeling. Another 
point to remember is that normal hunger fre¬ 
quently manifests itself by craving some par¬ 
ticular thing, whereas mere appetite will crave 
anything in order to smother certain tempor¬ 
ary, disagreeable sensations. 

It is usually much easier to abstain from 
food altogether (except, of course, water, 
152 



How to Break the Fast 


which is always allowed in fasting cases), than 
it is to eat a little food each day, no matter 
how little that may he. The small quantity 
of food eaten, under these circumstances, stim¬ 
ulates the stomach and intestines into continued 
activity, and the result is that they crave a 
greater quantity of food; but if no food at all 
is administered, the digestive system accustoms 
itself to a temporary state of inactivity, and 
it no longer sets up the vigorous waves of mus¬ 
cular action which characterize the digestion 
of food, and which are largely responsible for 
the feeling of hunger at such times. 

Even a mouthful of solid food will, there¬ 
fore, serve to break the fast—since this will 
stimulate the stomach and intestines into 
renewed activity—and once they have been 
re-awakened, a strong and an uncontrolable 
appetite will at once develop, and the patient 
will find that he cannot resist the insatiable 
desire for more food in order to satisfy this 
craving. The only sane and rational course 
to pursue, then, is to abstain entirely from all 
food until you are ready definitely to break 
the fast. A complete fast is relatively easy, 
but a small quantity of food each day will 



Fasting foe Health 


merely serve to keep the patient irritated and 
hungry! 

The important point to bear in mind is that, 
in all diseased states, the moment the fast is 
broken the process of most decided and rapid 
improvement abruptly lessens and, if the fast 
has not been carried to its logical conclusion, 
the patient is not cured completely, but is 
benefited little beyond the extent which cor¬ 
responds (organically) to the actual time of 
the fast. 

If the fast be broken prematurely, various 
unpleasant consequences will frequently ensue. 
An excited and feverish condition may result, 
in some adverse conditions, the pulse and tem¬ 
perature may rapidly rise, the patient’s think¬ 
ing and reasoning abilities may be slightly 
affected, and nausea and even vomiting may 
result. There are various cases on record in 
which this has occurred, and it has usually 
been necessary, in such instances, for the pa¬ 
tient to resume the fast until the stomach has 
become readjusted and normal hunger re¬ 
turns. This question has been discussed, how¬ 
ever, in the chapter devoted to “Symptoms, 
Mishaps and Emergencies of Fasting,” and I 

154 



How to Break the Fast 


only refer to it here as one of the symptoms 
which may occasionally he observed as the re¬ 
sult of the premature breaking of the fast. 

The unpleasant results referred to after 
breaking a fast, even when premature, are 
largely caused by a neglect to take a sufficient 
quantity of liquid with the food. Liquid must 
be supplied very freely when breaking a fast; 
and if desired, sweeten it with strained honey 
or lightly flavor with orange or other acid 
fruit juices. 

The most essential facts to hear in mind are 
that Nature will practically invariably indicate 
when the fast should be terminated by a series 
of signals or symptoms which are well-known 
and which can be readily observed; and that it 
is detrimental to break the fast before these 
symptoms appear. 

Now assuming that the patient has fasted 
for a certain length of time—longer or shorter, 
as the case may he—(according to his condi- 
tion) —how should the patient break the fast? 
These are very important questions, since ill 
effects frequently result from the unwise 
breaking of a fast, and from permitting the 
patient to overeat in the days immediately fol- 
155 




Fasting for Health 


lowing it—when the hunger is very keen and 
food constantly craved. 

Those who have studied fasting cures are 
practically unanimous in their decision that the 
first food eaten should be liquid only, and 
preferably fruit juices—whether the fast is 
long or short. Orange juice and water make 
a very good first meal, though this should usu¬ 
ally be followed after an hour or two with 
additional food in the way of more fruit. We 
have found that some patients prefer apple 
juice, or pineapple or grape juice. Individual 
preference will need to be considered, of 
course, but any fruit juice used should be 
diluted. After a short fast, the first article of 
food taken may be a small piece of ripe water¬ 
melon or canteloupe, if this is especially de¬ 
sired. Not infrequently tomato juice agrees 
perfectly, hut is good only after the shorter 
fasts. Regardless of the length of the fast, 
fruit juices or the melon should be taken as 
the first article of food. The action of the 
fruit juice is to very gently stimulate the 
stomach to activity and also to exert a certain 
cleansing action, which is very desirable. This 
glass of fruit juice should not be taken all at 
156 



How to Break the Fast 


once (as one would ordinarily drink a glass 
of water), but should be taken in sips, so that 
three or four minutes are consumed in finishing 
the whole glass. It should be “masticated,” 
as it were, before being swallowed. This con¬ 
stitutes the actual breaking of the fast, and is 
probably the safest and best method known, 
though it is usually better after a very long 
fast to use considerably less than a full glass 
of fruit juice, unless it is diluted at least one 
half. If diluted one-third, then two-thirds of 
a glass would be sufficient. 

Following this, an hour or two later, a light 
fruit “meal” may be eaten—one orange (minus 
pulp) preferred, though grapes, peaches or 
other fresh fruit may be used—discarding the 
seeds and skins at first. 

There is a constant craving for food, once 
the fast has been broken, and considerable will 
power will have to be exercised in order to 
check this constant hunger. Many of the good 
effects of the fast may be undone by over eat¬ 
ing or by eating the wrong foods at such times, 
and in fact many patients have made them¬ 
selves seriously ill by unwisely partaking of 
excessive or unsuitable foods at the conclusion 


157 



Fasting for Health 


of a protracted fast. It is always safer to 
adhere to acid or at least the juicy fruits for 
the first two or three days, though they must 
be masticated thoroughly. If any other food is 
strongly craved and if it is well selected and 
chewed to an absolute liquid, also eaten very 
slowly in very small quantities, one will doubt¬ 
less digest it satisfactorily. 

One of four modes may be adopted at the 
conclusion of a fast. These are: (1) a fruit 
diet; (2) a milk diet; (3) a gruel diet; (4) 
an ordinary mixed diet. 

(1) If the subject desires to go on a fruit 
diet following his fast, he should make it his 
business beforehand to familiarize himself with 
the food values of various fruits, and should 
endeavor to proportion them rightly. Too 
much acid at such times is not advisable, and 
certain combinations of various fruits will fre¬ 
quently result in the formation of gas and 
various minor digestive troubles. A simple 
meal composed of one or two fruits would be 
advisable. Finely chopped apples and dates 
would represent a good combination; or 
peaches and dates, always using the golden 
or Persian dates. Any fruits may be used, 
158 




How to Break the Fast 


according to these suggestions and according 
to personal tastes and desires. 

The most important factor when breaking 
the fast is the necessity of drinking water very 
freely. Encourage yourself to drink it at 
meals and between meals. To do this, flavor 
the water, if desired, with strained honey or 
any fruit juice that may appeal—lemon, 
orange, apple, etc. The system requires a 
great amount of liquid after an extended fast. 

(2) An exclusive milk diet is usually of 
greatest value following a fast. Milk supplies 
the body with a considerable quantity of easily 
digested and assimilable food material in 
simple form, more nearly correctly propor¬ 
tioned than one is apt to secure in other foods 
in combination. Weight and strength are 
often seen to increase very rapidly when an 
exclusive milk diet is followed. This gain is 
normal, however, and unless too much milk is 
taken, will continue for a long period of time 
without abatement. 

Always take fruit or fruit juice, or in some 
cases, as previously mentioned, the gruel—for 
at least one or two days before beginning the 
milk diet. This is important! At the end of 

159 




Fasting foe Health 


this chapter will be found a number of regimes 
indicating the most satisfactory diets following 
fasts of different lengths. 

The best way to take milk is to compress the 
lips on the glass so tightly that the milk has to 
be “sucked in,” the same as a baby would take 
it from a bottle. This method insures its being 
mixed with the saliva and therefore properly 
digested. 

The milk should, however, be warm, and 
should be thoroughly chewed or masticated 
before being swallowed. The moment milk 
reaches the stomach it is curdled—since the 
stomach secretion is an acid medium; and if 
a whole glass of milk be swallowed at once, it 
will form one solid ball which will have to be 
slowly broken up before it can be digested and 
passed on into the intestines. If, on the other 
hand, the milk is swallowed after being sucked 
into the mouth, it will form a number of small 
curd lumps which are readily digested without 
trouble. 

The quantity of milk taken after long fasts 
will depend upon several circumstances, but 
as a general rule it may be said that for the 
first day from two-thirds to three-quarters of 
160 



How to Break the Fast 


a glass of milk may be allowed every two 
hours—taken “baby fashion/’ as described; on 
the second day, a full glass every two hours or 
every hour and a half; on the third day, one 
full glass every hour; and on succeeding days, 
one glass every three-quarters or every half 
hour—for twelve hours a day, say, from seven 
to seven, or from eight to eight. By the “full 
glass” is meant an ordinary eight-ounce glass 
—filled to probably one-half inch from the top 
for the first few days, and later practically to 
the very top. 

This will run up the quantity of milk im¬ 
bibed during the full milk diet to nearly a 
gallon and a half—half a pint to each glass, 
for the twelve-hour day. This appears to be 
a great quantity, but when we consider that 
the amount of solid material contained in milk 
is relatively small, compared with the fluid 
content, it will be seen that the actual amount 
of nutriment is not so great; in fact, actual 
experience has shown that it can be assimilated 
by the individual of average weight with com¬ 
parative ease and with only beneficial results. 
But if your height and normal size are below 
average, lessen the quantity to four and a half 
161 



Fasting for Health 


or five quarts a day; and if they are above the 
average, increase the milk allowance to as much 
as seven quarts. It is rare that more than this 
quantity can be taken safely for any consider¬ 
able length of time. 

Following the fast of one or two weeks, the 
milk may be taken (after a day or two of fruit) 
as described for the second day after the long 
fast, and continued from then on as the milk 
diet is described above. 

The milk diet has been taken by great num¬ 
bers of persons following fasts, and has re¬ 
sulted in rapid increase in weight and strength 
in practically all cases. Should nausea or an 
aversion to milk develop at any time, the milk 
should be omitted for a half a day or so, and 
small quantities of orange juice and water sub¬ 
stituted instead. Under these circumstances, 
it will usually be found that the milk diet can 
be followed the next day without difficulty. Or 
this difficulty can be overcome more effectively 
by the use of a small amount of orange or 
lemon juice after or before occasional glasses 
of milk throughout the day. This milk diet 
may be continued for several weeks if desired, 
or may be stopped at the end of a week or so, 
162 




How to Break the Fast 


and replaced by some form of solid food or by 
the “mixed” diet. 

(3) A gruel diet has proven of greatest 
benefit in breaking a fast taken for the cure 
or benefit of gastric ulcers, gastric carcinoma 
(cancer) or gastric tuberculosis. This applies 
also to duodenal ulcers and to some cases of 
“plain indigestion.” It is true that the fast 
itself will make a very great change for the 
better in the pathology of these cases, but the 
improvement gained by this factor of the 
treatment can be carried on to better advan¬ 
tage by the use of the very bland and easily 
digested gruel. This gruel is a very thin oat¬ 
meal gruel, made by boiling well (or cooking 
in a double boiler, as in the preparation of oat¬ 
meal or other cereal) a level tablespoonful of 
oatmeal in one pint of water, and adding a 
pinch of salt. The solid substance is strained 
out, the liquid only being used. The amounts 
taken may vary somewhat, but at the very be¬ 
ginning, after breaking the fast, four to six 
ounces will be a sufficient “meal.” This may 
be repeated every three hours for the first two 
or three days, though it is sometimes better to 
have but three feedings during the first twenty- 
163 



Fasting for Health 


four hours. After this first two or three days, 
the amount of solid material in the gruel may 
be allowed, and more than that put in the orig¬ 
inal gruel itself may be added, slowly and 
gradually increasing the amount. It is well to 
give the milk diet after this diet has been con¬ 
tinued from five days to a week. This may 
be begun as explained for the second or third 
day of the milk diet, (see under (2), “Ex¬ 
clusive milk diet,”) depending upon the gen¬ 
eral feeling, the appetite, and the digestion of 
the gruel; if the appetite is good and there is 
perfect ease in digesting the gruel, begin as for 
the third day of the milk diet; but if there is 
a limited appetite and a feeling that enough 
is being taken, begin on the second day’s milk 
ration. Whichever is used, proceed with the 
milk diet as if that had been used in the begin¬ 
ning. Barley water may be used for this diet 
if preferred to oatmeal gruel. 

(4) Let us assume, however, that the pa¬ 
tient desires to break his fast on the ordinary 
“mixed” diet> instead of according to some 
special system such as the fruit or milk diet. 
In this case it is advisable to begin with acid 
fruit juices for the first day and liquid food 
164 




How to Break the Fast 


the next day or two—such as some light vege¬ 
table bouillon. Chop several vegetables finely, 
simmer in a boiler for several hours, strain, 
and drink (slowly) the liquid only. Four 
pounds of vegetables to the gallon of water at 
the beginning will make a good strong bouillon 
when ready to use. Four ounces of this should 
constitute the first “meal,” but later “meals” 
may be of four to six ounces, and the periods 
between feedings should be four hours the first 
day and two and three hours on later days. 

About the third or fourth day a more sub¬ 
stantial meal may be eaten. This should con¬ 
sist of one egg, soft boiled, poached or coddled, 
a slice of toast or zwiebach, and the juice of an 
orange. And remember to drink plenty of 
water, or, better still, continue to drink the 
vegetable bouillon previously described in 
whatever quantities desired. This should be 
taken about mid-forenoon, and should be all 
that is eaten the first day with the exception 
of perhaps half a glass of milk early in the 
evening. All food eaten at such times should 
be thoroughly masticated; don’t fail to reduce 
the food to a liquid state in the mouth before it 
is swallowed. It is far better to err on the 
165 



Fasting for Health 


side of caution and to eat too little, rather than 
to eat too rapidly and too much, as one of the 
great difficulties which practically every one 
experiences after a fast of any duration is re¬ 
straining the appetite for the first week or so 
—as it will be found that hunger is more or 
less constantly present, and must be kept under 
control by a considerable effort of will. It is 
most important to bear in mind, however, that 
overeating at this time will undo many of the 
beneficial effects of the fast, and is liable to 
cause cramps, flatulence and, perhaps, nausea 
and vomiting—and worse. Should any of 
these symptoms develop, use vegetable bouil¬ 
lon quite freely or drink a glass or two of hot 
or cold water, as desired, and if necessary 
sweeten the water with strained honey or 
flavor it with orange or lemon juice, and eat 
nothing until all symptoms have disappeared. 

The second and third days following the 
fast are often difficult to regulate in this re¬ 
gard. It is far better to determine before 
sitting down to eat exactly what will be eaten 
at each meal, and not deviate from this amount 
under any circumstances. If eating alone this 
will be easy, for then just the proper amount 
166 



How to Break the Fast 


can be placed on the table; but the greatest care 
will have to be observed when the meal is taken 
with other members of the family, where a 
more or less large variety of food is before one 
and where one will probably be urged to eat 
more. The will power displayed when determ¬ 
ining to take the fast and in carrying it over 
the difficult places and through to a successful 
finish must be brought into use under such 
circumstances. 

Two meals a day are ample, and these meals 
should be very light for at least a week or ten 
days following a fast. If three meals are taken 
you must greatly limit the quantity. Eggs, 
vegetables, salads, fruits, and milk should form 
the bulk of the diet, which may be supple¬ 
mented at times by chicken, fish, etc., should 
the patient desire. But the amount eaten at 
each meal should be strictly limited in quan¬ 
tity and liquids freely used. Care should be 
taken to select the foods so that the proteins, 
fats, carbohydrates, and mineral-salt-contam- 
ing foods should be balanced as nearly as pos¬ 
sible in their right proportions. For example, 
potatoes, spaghetti, macaroni, breads, cereals, 
etc., are practically all starch foods; while peas, 
167 



Fasting for Health 


beans, lentils, meats, eggs, cheese, nuts, etc., 
are proteins. If those of either of these groups 
are combined at the same meal, a duplication 
of the original food elements will result. It 
is advisable, therefore, for the patient to read 
two or three good books on food and diet before 
beginning his fast, so that he may have a fair 
general knowledge of the relative values of the 
various foods. Not more than from eight to 
twelve ounces should be eaten at any one meal 
and, as said before, the less the better for the 
first few days following the fast. 

Personal idiosyncracies must be considered 
in this question of diet. Some persons cannot 
eat strawberries, others cannot eat fish, others 
eggs, etc.; and these personal reactions must 
be taken into account when breaking the fast. 
While it is true that the chemistry of the body 
and its fluids undergo some changes during a 
fast, it is inadvisable to partake of any food 
known to disagree with the patient under 
normal, non-fasting conditions. Of course, a 
greater variety of foods may be eaten with 
impunity after a short fast than after a long 
fast, and more food may also then be eaten; 
but it cannot be too strongly emphasized that 
168 




How to Break the Fast 


overeating, especially after the long fast, is 
very harmful and the desire must be restrained 
at all costs! 

Should the patient feel weak and languid at 
the conclusion of his fast, he must not feel 
disappointed if he experiences no immediate 
reaction and benefit from the first meal im¬ 
mediately after it has been consumed. This 
food must first of all be digested and assimi¬ 
lated before its effects are noticed, so that no 
immediate stimulation may be expected—and 
none for at least two or three hours after the 
completion of the meal, ordinarily. Even 
assuming that the food agrees perfectly with 
the patient, it is better not to expect any 
marked reactionary stimulation until the fol¬ 
lowing day. A misunderstanding of this point 
has caused many persons to become needlessly 
alarmed and some of them have eaten a second 
meal shortly after the first one. This is a great 
mistake, however, and should by all means be 
avoided. For even if one is so fortunate as 
to escape serious consequences so far as his 
digestive functions are concerned, the demand 
upon the nervous system will be so great that 
169 



Fasting for Health 


there will be an increased weakness and de¬ 
pression. 

Food—to the extent that its ingestion in¬ 
creases functional activity—is a stimulant y 
and the more stimulating the food the more 
will this characteristic he noted. Meat will, of 
course, produce this feeling of stimulation or 
4 ‘added strength” more quickly than anything 
else (that is not a typical direct stimulant), 
but it must always be borne in mind that en¬ 
ergy is noted by us in its expenditure , never 
in its accumulation . If a sudden feeling of 
strength be noted at any time, it may be taken 
for granted that the energies of the body are 
being stimulated (whipped) into renewed 
activity—in other words, wasted —and the 
greater the degree of stimulation, the more 
will this feeling of renewed strength be pres¬ 
ent and the greater will be the following feel¬ 
ing of depression. Non-stimulating food, 
therefore, is far better to use after a fast, for 
both immediate effects and ultimate good. 

Any machine, while gaining or regaining 
impetus, must begin gradually, and slowly 
work up to higher pressures and speeds as it 
gains momentum. The same is true of the 
170 



How to Break the Fast 


human body—the more slowly it begins its 
activities, the better; and it will be found that 
if this rule is followed, particularly in relation 
to digestive activities, trouble will be avoided 
in the days immediately following the breaking 
of the fast—and in the days to come. 

Following are the suggested menus pre¬ 
viously mentioned, to be used after fasts of 
different lengths: 

after a short fast of from two to five days: 
First Day 

Three meals of fresh fruit, choice of. 

Second Day 

One glass of whole, sweet milk every hour. 
Following Days 

Full milk diet—one glass every three-quarters 
of an hour to every half hour for twelve hours 
daily—depending upon digestive capacity and 
desire, also size of individual. 

OR 

First Two or Three Days 

Three meals a day of one acid and one sweet 
fruit with one glass of milk. 

After Two or Three Days 

One pint to one quart of hot milk in the morn¬ 
ing and another in the evening, with a vege¬ 
table meal at midday. 

After from one to two weeks—gradually work 
into regular diet, if the milk diet is not desired. 

171 




Fasting for Health 


AFTER A FAST OF SIX TO TEN DAYS I 

First Two Days 

Three or four meals of fresh fruit only. 

Third Day 

One half pint of warm milk every two hours. 
Fourth Day 

One half pint of milk every hour. 

Fifth Day and Later 

One half pint of milk every three-quarters to 
every half hour for twelve hours a day. 

OB 

After the First Two Days 

Three meals of fresh fruit and milk, or fresh 
fruit, sweet fruit and milk. 

AFTER A FAST OF TEN TO TWENTY DAYS I 

First Day 

Three meals of diluted fruit juice in four to 
six ounce doses. 

Second Day 

Three or four meals of the same, in doses of 
from six to eight ounces. 

Third Day 

One half pint warm milk every two hours. 
Following Days 

Work up to full milk diet as suggested above. 
172 





How to Break the Fast 


OR 

If milk diet is not desired, 

Third Day 

Three meals of one fresh fruit, plus one half 
glass of milk. 

Fourth Day 

Fruit for three meals, with one full glass of 
milk with each meal. 

Fifth Day 

One half pint of milk as desired until one p.m., 
and at five or six p.m. a vegetable meal. 

Sixth Day 

Morning: One-half to one pint of warm milk; 

Noon: Vegetables and whole wheat cereal with 
possibly an egg or two: 

Six p.m.: A similar meal, without duplicating 
the eggs. 

Shortly Before Retiring: One pint of milk. 

At Any Time After This: The usual diet may 
be returned to. 


FASTS OF LONGER DURATION THAN TWENTY DAYS I 

Follow the same program as for the ten to 
twenty day fast, except that smaller amounts 
of food are taken at each feeding for the first 
three or four days. 


173 



Fasting for Health 


In any of the above cases orange juice is 
preferable in the large majority of cases, 
though other natural fruit juices may be 
selected. Or, in place of the fruit juice or 
fruit, the gruel or barley water may be taken, 
in four to six-ounce doses. The quantity of 
the cereal preparation should be increased as 
the system is prepared for the larger diet, and 
after two or three days following fasts of 
longer than ten days these preparations may 
he made with milk, or, to increase the quan¬ 
tity, warm milk may be added to the water- 
made preparations. 

Bear in mind that wherever possible fruit 
and milk should be taken instead of any other 
foods and combinations, for they are natural 
foods and are more likely to carry on without 
interuption the benefits secured by the fast. 


174 




Chapter IX 


Building Health After the Fast 

A FTER the fast has been broken, the ob- 
ject of the patient is to regain a certain 
amount of healthy tissue as rapidly as possible, 
and to restore normal conditions, without forc¬ 
ing matters, and with as little strain upon the 
internal mechanism as possible. I have al¬ 
ready pointed out the necessity for breaking 
the fast very cautiously in the chapter devoted 
to “How to Break the Finish Fast.” As¬ 
suming that breaking of the fast has been 
accomplished successfully, and the fast thus 
brought to a normal, favorable termination, it 
remains for the patient to build up his physique 
rapidly, since there will be an undoubted call 
by all the tissues and organs of the body for 
considerable wholesome nutriment, this being 
manifested in a vigorous appetite, which will 
show itself as soon as the fast is broken. 

I have already mentioned several specific 
diets which the patient may follow to advan- 
175 


Fasting for Health 


tage on breaking of the fast. The most im¬ 
portant of these are, probably, the milk diet, 
the raw food diet, and the liquid diet. These 
will, of course, be modified more or less accord¬ 
ing to individual cases, and the amount of food 
which can be permitted in any given case de¬ 
pends partly upon the length of the fast, and 
partly on the weight, digestive capacity, and 
general condition of the patient. Wholesome 
food, containing an abundance of organic salts 
and vitamines, is absolutely essential at this 
time, since the body’s supply of these has been 
doubtless drawn upon considerably during the 
period of fasting, and needs replenishment. 
You must remember that a long fast materially 
reduces the size of the stomach, while a short 
fast will make but little change in it. This 
contraction of the stomach makes it important 
that one should avoid, above all things, the in¬ 
clination to overeat that often appears within 
one or two days after having broken a fast. 

The following dietetic regimens will be 
found useful in restoring the general health 
and weight, after a more or less protracted 
fast, and for upbuilding the health and strength 
generally. 


176 



Building Health After the Fast 


The milk diet and fast-breaking regimens 
have already been given. The following 
dietetic regimens are given when the milk diet 
has secured most of the results desired, or 
when necessity demands that a change be made 
from the milk diet, or that some other diet be 
taken in preference to the milk. 

Always when changing from the exclusive 
milk diet it is better to continue on the milk at 
the usual rate for the full milk diet daily until 
one or two p. m. These next few menus take 
into consideration this feature for proper fast¬ 
breaking. 

Diet No. 1 . —Take milk or sumik as pre¬ 
scribed until one p.m. At five or six o’clock 
take a meal consisting of sweet fruit and vege¬ 
tables according to the taste—using the great¬ 
est care to masticate thoroughly and to avoid 
overeating. 

Diet No. 2. —Take milk or sumik one-half 
pint every hour until one p.m. At five or six 
o’clock take a meal consisting of one kind of 
acid fruit, one kind of sweet fruit and one kind 
of nut. Milk can be taken with this meal if 
desired. 


177 



Fasting for Health 


Diet No. 3—Take milk or sumik as in the 
ordinary milk diet—that is one-half pint every 
half hour until one p.m. At five or six o clock 
eat an ordinary meal of food that previous 
experience has shown will thoroughly agree 
with you. 

Diet No. 4. —Milk or sumik until one p.m. 
Meal at five or six o’clock consisting of meat 
and an abundance of green vegetables, such 
as onions, lettuce, water-cress and the like. 
No bread to be used. 

Note —The order of taking the articles in 
the above diets may be reversed if desired— 
that is, take the meal between six and eight 
a.m. and the milk or sumik from one p.m., 
to within two or three hours of retiring—aim¬ 
ing to secure half as much milk as on the full 
milk diet. 

Diet No. 5.—A quart of hot milk or cool 
sumik or buttermilk, to be taken within a few 
minutes after arising; a meal of limited variety 
of ordinary food, that you know from previous 
experience to be agreeable, to be taken be¬ 
tween twelve and three p.m. ; a quart of milk, 
178 




Building Health After the Fast 


sumik or buttermilk to be taken an hour or two 
before retiring. 

Diet No. 6.—Acid and sweet fruits chop¬ 
ped up finely, thoroughly mixed together, with 
cream or olive oil added. Be careful not to 
add both cream and olive oil, but one or the 
other may be used. If one is not prejudiced 
against olive oil it will usually make a more 
satisfactory combination than the cream. Or 
nuts may be used in place of either cream or 
olive oil. The following combinations of fruit 
and nut meats are suggested: raisins, oranges 
and Brazil nuts; dates, apricots and filberts; 
bananas, pears and pignolias; apples, dates 
and pecans; peaches, bananas and almonds; 
pears, figs and walnuts; oranges, dates and 
cashew nuts. One meal of this, together with 
a glass of milk at five or six o’clock, after milk 
has been taken until one. 

Diet No. 7.—Milk until one, as before. At 
five or six take a meal consisting of vegetable 
soup, a raw vegetable salad, one or two cooked 
green vegetables, a baked potato or whole rice, 
if desired, and one or two eggs or fish. With 
this may be taken one glass of sumik or butter- 
179 




Fasting for Health 


milk if desired. Or one or two slices of whole¬ 
wheat bread with butter may be taken instead 
of the milk. 

These diets include all the variety that 
should be required so long as one is taking the 
milk one-half day. 

When it is desired to go completely from 
the milk diet, the following menus will be 
valuable suggestions: 

Diet No. 8.— Ordinary raw flaked or rolled 
oats, wheat, rye or barley, moistened with 
cream, with raisins added to taste. Begin with 
a small cup two-thirds full of this mixture at 
each meal, taking two meals a day—early in 
the morning and at five or six p.m. One may 
take whatever quantity of milk is craved at 
each meal. At midday take acid fruit and 
milk, or acid fruit, sweet fruit, and milk. The 
allowance of the cereals and fruit can be 
increased gradually—using considerable care 
not to eat beyond the ability to digest. Also 
observe care that the mastication is thorough. 

Diet No. 9. —Two meals daily of shredded 
wheat biscuit and sweet fruit, adding cream; 
drink as much milk as desired with each meal. 

180 



Building Health After the Fast 


Raisins, figs, dates or bananas may be used as 
sweet fruit in this regimen. A pint of milk 
may be taken a short time before retiring, or 
at midday provided there will be four hours 
or more between this and each of the two 
meals. 

Diet No. 10. —Ground or macerated round 
steak after the gristle and cartilage have been 
removed. Mold the meat into cakes and then 
broil. A small piece of “stale” bread or whole¬ 
wheat bread may be taken with the meat. 
After eating the meat, eat whatever quantity 
of (unpolished) rice you may desire, adding 
pure honey if desired. It is better to drink 
one or two cups of quite hot water with this. 
Raw onions, celery, lettuce or cabbage should 
be taken in considerable amounts with this 
meal. Begin with eight ounces of the macer¬ 
ated meat at a meal and increase two or three 
ounces every two or three days up to twelve 
to fourteen ounces at a meal. This should be 
taken for only one meal during the day, and 
the other meals should be fruit and milk, or 
vegetables and milk, or sweet fruits and green 
vegetables. 


181 



Fasting for Health 


General Diets 

NO. 1 

Breakfast: 

Raisins and almonds, or any other sweet 
fruit and nuts desired, taken with or without 
milk. 

Lunch: 

Any soup desired made from vegetables; 
rice boiled in milk with grated cheese; simple 
dessert; sumik or buttermilk. 

Dinner: 

Any soup desired; green vegetables 
(cooked) and baked potato; raw salad; des¬ 
sert of stewed raisins, figs or prunes; cereal 
coffee, if desired, prepared with or without 

egg. 


NO. 2 

Breakfast: 

Acid or sweet fruit, or both fruits com¬ 
bined, with milk. 

Lunch: 

Eggs cooked as desired, except fried; one 
vegetable (cooked) ; one or two green vege¬ 
tables, raw, or in salad; cereal coffee or cocoa. 

t)inner: 

Soup made from vegetables; baked maca¬ 
roni or spaghetti; one cooked green vege¬ 
table; one raw vegetable; (unpolished) rice 
pudding or other simple dessert; cereal cof¬ 
fee, cocoa, sumik or buttermilk. 

182 




Building Health After the Fast 


NO. 3 

Breakfast: 

Raisins and nuts, or any other fruit or 
nuts. 

Lunch: 

Vegetable soup (of two or more cooked 
vegetables) ; water-cress, lettuce, and tomato 
salad, flavored with chopped onions; sumik, 
buttermilk or cereal coffee. 

Dinner: 

Vegetable soup; eggs any style, or fish, or 
fowl; one or two cooked vegetables; salad as 
desired; one simple dessert; cereal coffee or 
cocoa made with egg if desired, unless egg is 
used in the dinner. 

Do not labor under the delusion that you can 
rapidly build up your health and strength by 
eating large quantities of food after the fast 
is broken. If you do this, you will merely 
throw an excessive strain upon the digestive 
apparatus, which may in consequence be in¬ 
jured, and nausea or actual illness follow. It 
is true that we are repairing the body, and 
replacing tissue at an unusual rate, but there 
is a normal rate at which this can be accom¬ 
plished, and if we attempt to exceed this, only 
harm will result. 

In addition to these specific methods of diet- 

183 



Fasting for Health 


ing, other general health-building measures 
should be adopted at the conclusion of the fast. 
One of the most important of these is a course 
of systematic exercise> which will build up and 
invigorate the entire muscular and nervous 
system, and impel a plentiful supply of fresh 
blood to all tissues and organs of the body. 
Walking is one of the best exercises of this 
character, since it serves to stimulate the in¬ 
ternal organs, and gives a certain degree of 
of “stamina” which can be attained in no other 
way. Exercises which strengthen the muscles 
about the waist-line are also very essential. 
Twisting, bending and swaying exercises— 
forward and backwards, and from side to side 
—stimulate the internal digestive organs, and 
impart to them a certain resistance and stamina 
which they would otherwise lack. 

Deep breathing exercises will not only im¬ 
prove the condition of the lungs and expand 
the chest, but will also massage the stomach, 
bowels, and other organs of the abdomen, by 
exercising the diaphragm, since this presses 
upon them with every inhalation and gently 
massages them by a system of internal rhyth¬ 
mic pressure. In addition to this, the nervous 

184 



Building Health After the Fast 


tone of the body is rapidly built up by these 
deep breathing exercises. 

The patient should be encouraged to drink 
plentifully of water at this time. Orange or 
lemon juice may be added to the water if de¬ 
sired, but sugar should not be added as in 
“lemonade,” as sweetened or acidulated drinks 
are not advisable for regular use. In fact, 
plain water should be the only fluid taken 
at practically all times, except when on the 
full milk diet. Form the habit of drinking 
from six to eight glasses of water daily. But 
as stated before, avoid iced water (and iced or 
ice cold drinks of any nature) as you would 
avoid absolutely poisonous potions. And do 
not drink hastily. 

The skin should he kept active, because of 
its ability to reduce the work of vital internal 
organs. A daily bath or skin stimulant of 
some nature should be taken. This daily bath 
should not be of hot water, though the hot 
bath may he taken occasionally. A shower 
hath, sponge, or splash bath is excellent. A 
plunge would be advisable for those of rugged 
constitution. The wet hand gives the benefit 
of both water bath and friction bath. And 
185 




Fasting fok Health 


the warmth of the hand reduces the tendency 
to chill in those cases where the circulation and 
reaction are not vigorous. The dry hand or 
a coarse towel also gives a good friction bath, 
though the flesh brush is to be preferred. These 
dry baths may be used almost exclusively with 
only an occasional water bath, where facilities 
are poor and where the body does not warm 
up very quickly after a water bath. However, 
accustom yourself, if possible, to the use of 
cool or cold water baths, because the effect 
they have upon general circulation, the quality 
of the blood, and the activity of the internal 
organs is decidedly beneficial. 

The air bath should be taken daily regard¬ 
less of other baths. Much cooler air than water 
can be borne on the body, and the reaction is 
usually immediate as soon as one dresses ac¬ 
cording to the weather and usual requirements. 
If air and water baths are taken together, it 
is usually better to take the water bath first, 
followed by both air and friction baths, though 
individual preference and effects must decide 
this in any particular case. 

Sun baths are very valuable in improving 
the skin activity and thereby the functioning 
186 



Building Health After the Fast 


of internal organs. Wherever possible, this 
should be taken daily or, at least, frequently. 
Greater results are secured where this excel¬ 
lent bath is followed by the cool or cold water 
bath. 

The bowels should he kept open, preferably 
by those foods which have bulk and an effect 
of gently stimulating the peristaltic action of 
the intestines. Too much rough, coarse food 
is not advisable, though the diet should con¬ 
tain some “roughage,” also fresh fruits. The 
fast will have done much to normalize bowel 
action and if the milk diet follows the fast, a 
still greater tendency in this direction will have 
resulted. But it must be remembered that 
all the good effects of the fast in any way can 
be undone by incorrect diet and living follow¬ 
ing the fast. Physical activity will help much 
to keep the bowels and liver active, as will the 
fresh fruit. Special exercises may be taken 
for this function if desired, and they will prove 
of general value as well. Drug laxatives 
should never in a single instance be resorted 
to, except perhaps occasionally immediately 
preceding a fast. The enema should be used 
whenever apparently necessary, without fear 
187 



Fasting for Health 


of producing any aggravation of the consti¬ 
pation. 

While everyone who can should indulge in 
some wholesome physical activity, there should 
be sufficient rest , relaxation and sleep. If 
necessary, give conscious attention to the vari¬ 
ous muscles or groups of muscles to insure 
relaxation that will result in most pronounced 
and rapid recuperation. One or two daily 
rests of ten to thirty minutes each will help 
materially to conserve the energy and even to 
increase energy and, therefore, to prolong life 
—particularly in the cases where the general 
constitutional strength seems to be below 
normal. 

As fasting is one of the most radical depart¬ 
ures from modern “civilized” methods of liv¬ 
ing, and also one of the most needed and 
valuable of Nature’s many inclinations for 
counteracting the destructive physical defects 
of this modern civilization, one who has 
adopted it should have become enthusiastic 
about the whole “return to Nature” program. 
Spend all the time possible out of doors, or 
at least in wholesome activity, and keep always 
as a central thought that happiness is greater, 
188 



Building Health After the Fast 


success more decided and more certain, when 
superb health is maintained. Throw off the 
yoke of “conventions” as much as your nature 
will permit; refuse to he bound down by those 
social requirements which are conceived in 
ignorance and fostered by hypocrisy. Cast 
aside the cares and worries and the dignity 
of years, and experience the exhilaration that 
comes only to those who know how to live 
naturally. Experience “the thrill that comes 
once in a lifetime” by feeling again that you 
have the heart of youth in a body capable of 
responding faithfully to your every require¬ 
ment—your every normal desire, your every 
natural instinct. Be a hobbyist—select some 
avocation which demands a turning of the 
thoughts outward and upward—always away 
from self. 

Remember that water, fresh air, sunlight, 
activity, rest, and moderation in all things are 
the prime requisites for complete health. Re¬ 
duce any one of these and disease begins to 
creep into and over one. But remember too 
that you have in the fast a relief for every ill 
that has a possible relief—if taken in time! 
Use it in the knowledge that it is Nature’s 
189 



Fasting for Health 


supreme remedy, and with the conviction and 
assurance that it offers you your one chance 
to enjoy those things which make life really 
worth while. 


190 



Chapter X 


Fasting Cases and Experiences 

R EADERS of the preceding pages may 
' now feel that they have acquired a fairly 
thorough grasp of the theory of fasting, and 
that they understand precisely how cures of 
this character are brought about. At the same 
time, they would like to see narrated a number 
of accounts of actual experiences of individuals 
who have undergone longer or shorter fasts, 
and who have had health restored to them by 
this simple method of treatment. In this final 
chapter I shall summarize a number of cases 
of this character—some of which have been 
published before in The Physical Culture 
Magazine. 

It will he observed that these cases vary 
very much in their general characteristics. 
The diseases which have been treated by this 
single method of treatment are very diversi¬ 
fied. The character and temperament of the 
individuals who have fasted have also been 
191 


Fasting for Health 


decidedly different. Their weights at the 
beginning of their fasts have ranged from less 
than a hundred pounds to nearly three hun¬ 
dred pounds, in cases of adults, while cases 
of children, and even babies, who have fasted 
to regain health, have been included. Some 
of these patients, then, have been old, others 
young; some have been nervous in tempera¬ 
ment, others phlegmatic, etc. In fact, all 
types of individuals may be found represented 
in a list of this character, but one and all of 
them have been benefited by fasting, or have 
been entirely cured of some illness by this very 
simple yet effective mode of treatment. 

It is a mistake to suppose that very young 
children on the one hand, or quite elderly 
people on the other, cannot fast to advantage. 
Sir Henry Thompson, the greatest specialist 
on diet for the aged, has emphasized over and 
over again in his writings the fact that, as we 
grow older, less and less food is required, 
and that while we can tolerate a certain excess 
of food in youth, this is not the case in old age, 
when a general process of enfeeblement has set 
in, and the stomach and general digestive ap¬ 
paratus are incapable of converting the quan- 
192 



Fasting Cases and Experiences 


tity of food material which they were enabled 
to digest, assimilate and utilize earlier in life. 
The reason for this is that the energy exerted 
in digestion is less, and the quality of the 
digestive juices is inferior and their strength 
weaker, so that food (and particularly heavy 
food) cannot be digested nor utilized to advan¬ 
tage. Further, during the periods of child¬ 
hood, youth, and adolescence, the body is actu¬ 
ally growing and increasing in weight from 
year to year, whereas the reverse of this is true 
in old age, when weight is lost from year to 
year, or maintained with difficulty. For these 
reasons, therefore, it is obvious that a very 
light diet is essential for those well advanced 
in years; and if overeating has been indulged 
in for any length of time, fasting may be 
employed with benefit, even in those cases 
where the patients are relatively quite aged. 

In the case of children, again, fasting may 
be employed without the slightest danger, 
though of course for shorter periods of time. 
We are accustomed to think that a fat child 
is necessarily a healthy child, but this is by no 
means the case. As Dr. Page remarked, years 
ago, “lank, lean childhood seems to be uni- 
193 



Fasting for Health 


versal in the animal world, with the single ex¬ 
ception of man.” It is true that a certain 
amount of fatty tissue may in a certain sense 
indicate health, inasmuch as it shows that the 
body is utilizing the food which it consumes; 
but any excess of fat at this time is a sign of 
deterioration and disease rather than health, 
and the amount of food which is allowed to 
growing children, under the illusion that they 
should eat great quantities in order to provide 
for growth, is alarming to behold! 

This illusion is also prevalent in regard to 
the mother of the child before birth. It has 
often been said that the expectant mother 
should “eat for two,” etc. But a simple 
analysis of facts would easily disprove this. 
Let us say that the average weight of the 
new-horn babe is nine pounds. This is a pound 
a month, or an average of about half an ounce 
a day; but to supply this half ounce, many 
mothers have been urged by their advisors to 
eat daily one or two pounds extra, or even 
more! What wonder is it that, under these 
circumstances, the mother experiences diffi¬ 
culty at the birth of the child, and that her 
tissues lack vitality and are easily lacerated, 
194 





Fasting Cases and Experiences 


and that fever and other complications ensue? 

For the infant itself, the overfeeding begins 
with the first few feedings after birth, and is 
carried well into the period of childhood. Dr. 
Page has estimated that, were an adult human 
to consume as much milk (proportional to his 
weight) as a young babe, he would consume 
approximately twenty-two and one-half quarts 
a day! Children are frequently permitted to 
overeat, not only at meal times, but between 
meals are tempted with fruit and “delicacies.” 
There is no reason whatever why babies and 
young children should suffer the variety of 
complaints which they generally experience, 
or why they should suffer from so-called “chil¬ 
dren’s diseases,” which are supposed to be an 
inevitable part of normal childhood. Were 
children fed normally, and permitted or com¬ 
pelled to fast for short periods of time when¬ 
ever they become ill or indisposed, there is no 
reason to suppose that these diseases would 
ever supervene. And this is proved by the 
fact that numbers of “physical culture chil¬ 
dren” have been reared and have grown into 
healthy manhood and womanhood without ex¬ 
periencing any of these diseases, or suffering 
195 



Fasting for Health 


any of the minor complaints which are thought 
to be inseparable from childhood. 

The instinct of normal childhood is to refrain 
from all food when sick, just as it is the instinct 
of animals to abstain from food under similar 
conditions; and if this instinct were allowed 
full play it would doubtless be instrumental in 
preventing the onset of these illnesses, and in 
saving the life of many a child who might 
otherwise die. The cases of fasting quoted in 
the following pages will prove the value of 
this method of cure, even in young children. 

It may seem incredible, at first, that such 
a variety of diseases can be successfully treated 
by the same method, and that a single system, 
such as this, can equally apply to all of them. 
This objection, however, will not be raised by 
any one who thoroughly understands the 
philosophy and the physiology of the fasting 
cure. Once we realize that most “diseases” 
are themselves curative processes; that there 
is a certain fundamental unity and oneness of 
disease; that the majority of so-called “dis¬ 
eases” are but the outward manifestations of 
the single underlying inner cause, and that this 
cause is the poisonous or effete material in the 
196 



Fasting Cases and Experiences 


system, which has not been adequately elim¬ 
inated—once we realize all this, we see that 
fasting, rightly applied, must be the simplest, 
speediest, and most effective method of elim¬ 
inating this primary cause. And, once we 
accomplish the removal of this primary cause, 
the outward demonstrations or symptoms of 
it will disappear of themselves, no matter how 
varying these symptoms may be, nor in what 
part of the body they may be present. In¬ 
asmuch as “local” diseases, so-called, are in the 
vast majority of cases merely local expressions 
of a general state, these local conditions are 
of course eliminated as soon as the primary 
or fundamental cause is removed; while, in 
general conditions — chronic and acute ill¬ 
nesses, etc.—the reason for the fasting should 
be obvious. 

One other point should perhaps he made 
here, and that is that diseases cured by fasting 
and similar and other nature cure methods 
do not and cannot recur, because their cause 
has been eliminated, and they cannot return 
unless the cause is again engendered within the 
body. Of course, it is possible to bring about 
any disease or the recurrence of any diseased 
197 



Fasting foe Health 


condition by improper methods of living, but 
once this primary cause has been removed, 
disease is impossible so long as the patient 
maintains his body in a fair degree of health 
and strength—by means of a suitable diet, and 
a sensible, natural, hygienic mode of life, such 
as outlined in the preceding chapter. 

Now as to actual experiences: 

Fasting Cases 

L. H. (Reported by Annie Riley Hale, in 
Physical Culture Magazine, December, 1920): 

A young woman, thirty-two years of age, 
with a fully developed case of tuberculosis of 
the lungs, with all the classical symptoms. 
She was put on a liquid diet for several weeks, 
then took absolute fast for twenty-four days, 
drinking much water daily. During the first 
few days the discharge from the lungs in¬ 
creased very greatly, but gradually subsided. 
After the twenty-second day there were no 
tubercular germs present. There was a pro¬ 
gressive improvement to a complete cure. 

Senator H. J. Riley, of Pittsburgh, in an 
article in the November, 1920, Physical Culture 
Magazine, told of his absolute fast of twenty- 
198 



Fasting Cases and Experiences 


three days for the cure of asthma. He was also 
overweight—weighing two hundred and thirty- 
eight pounds. He walked eight miles every 
day of the fast, part of the walk being up a 
very steep hill . and he also attended to his 
regular duties daily. He lost eighteen inches 
from his waist circumference and three inches 
from the circumference of his neck. But the 
most pleasing result was his absolute cure of 
the asthma, of which he was a victim for years. 

Mr. P., of Rochester, 1ST. Y., undertaker. 
Because of his business and of his contact with 
doctors, he was able to secure the best medical 
service and advice, and several doctors had 
told him that his was a case of gastric cancer 

_that operation was “the only chance he had.” 

He had already put too many operated (and 
other) cases under the sod, and determined to 
try and find some other than surgical treat¬ 
ment for himself. He had typical signs and 
symptoms of cancer and was “doubled up” 
from pain in his stomach. He fasted for three 
weeks and in that time was able to straighten 
up when walking, his pains had ceased, his 
color began to slowly return, and he felt better 
in every way. Within two months he was 


199 





Fasting for Health 


pronounced completely cured, and within an¬ 
other month was on a fishing trip! 

Joseph Thomas, twenty-three years old; 
(Account given in Physical Culture for April, 
1921): 

Syphilis —with the strongest Wassermann 
reaction—four plus; had had the “specific” 
treatment which had, by suppression only, 
caused a clearing up of the signs. Two months 
after discontinuing treatment and while in the 
navy, the signs and symptoms returned, and 
Wassermann test again showed four plus. 
Then followed a nine months’ course of sal- 
varsan, mercury and potassium iodide—with 
the result that his stomach rebelled almost 
completely and he was becoming more and 
more anemic. But the Wassermann remained 
four plus! He received a Bad Conduct Dis¬ 
charge from the Navy because he refused any 
more treatment, but he gladly took the dis¬ 
charge rather than further treatment. He 
fasted nineteen days, except for an apple on 
the thirteenth day. His later treatment was 
the milk diet for thirteen weeks. The results 
were—all signs and symptoms removed and 
Wassermann negative! 

200 



Fasting Cases and Experiences 


Little Johnnie Wells, Kentucky; four years 
old. 

Pneumonia a typical catarrhal or lobular 
(broncho) pneumonia ushered in with the 
usual abrupt severe symptoms. Fasted six 
days, with a considerable amount of plain and 
slightly acidulated water. He was playing 
about the bed and also some on the floor at 
the end of the fourth day, but a slight rise in 
temperature appeared on the morning of the 
fifth day and the fast was continued longer. 
There was no pain in the chest after the early 
part of the third day, and no other disturb¬ 
ances except for the slight fever mentioned. 
His recovery was complete within a week. 

Ambrose Taylor (Reported by Annie Riley 
Hale, in September, 1922, Physical Culture 
Magazine), Age sixty. Rheumatism for years 
_bedfast. He fasted twenty-three days. Dur¬ 
ing the fasting he experienced three light 
strokes of paralysis, which would probably 
have occurred without the fast, with perhaps 
fatal results. The paralysis left entirely be¬ 
fore the end of the twenty-third day, and the 
rheumatism was practically cured. 

A young woman (Reported in the same 
201 




Fasting foe Health 


issue of Physical Culture by Annie Riley 
Hale). Overgrown, with severe digestive and 
other troubles . She fasted for thirty-five days, 
part of the tin^ with not even water. All her 
digestive and other symptoms were completely 
cured. 

C. C. H. Cowan (Reported by the same 
author, in September, 1922, issue of Physical 
Culture), Warrensburg, Illinois. Severe nasal 
and throat catarrh for years. His fast was of 
forty-two days, with water only. During this 
time he lost thirty pounds, but continued his 
duties daily. His catarrh is entirely cured and 
he feels that his stomach is “completely re- 
lined.” 

Mr. Milton Rathburn, grain merchant of 
Mount Vernon, New York (reported in the 
same article as the above three). He was over¬ 
weight and with symptoms such that he feared 
apoplexy, as his age was fifty-four, an age at 
which many have this fearful condition. He 
fasted absolutely twenty-eight days, with 
bouillon on the next few days; commuted reg¬ 
ularly into New York daily, and lost forty- 
two pounds of useless flesh. He refused to 
eat fruits brought by men in his employ— 
202 




Fasting Cases and Experiences 


saying he wouldn’t eat the fruit for $1,000! 
The result was a satisfactory reduction in 
weight and a freedom from the dreadful symp¬ 
toms. 

Mr. David Edstrom, Sculptor. (Reported 
by himself in the January, 1921, issue of 
Physical Culture.) His weight was two hun¬ 
dred and thirty-three pounds, and he could not 
walk more than a block; cold baths gave him 
severe lumbago and rheumatism, and he suf¬ 
fered severe headaches. The fast was absolute 
and for many days, though no details are given 

_except that at the end of the first week his 

headaches disappeared; in one week he walked 
six miles on one day, fourteen miles another 
day, and twenty miles on a third day! He also 
took long swims, and reduced to one hundred 
and eighty-five pounds. He justly feels that 
he has a new lease on life. 

H. H. H. (Reported in September, 1921, 
Physical Culture), age thirty-one. His trouble 
was severe catarrh of the stomach, and con¬ 
stipation. His diet was gradually reduced to 
soups, and then from June first to July third 
he took only water. From June fifth to 
fifteenth he states that the “bowel lining 
203 



Fasting for Health 


seemed to be peeling away.” On July third 
he began taking half-glasses of water and 
orange juice. His is a case where he early 
began to eat too much, but he soon discovered 
his error and adjusted his diet so that within 
five weeks he had gained up to one hundred 
and seventy-four pounds—he weighed one 
hundred and sixty-three pounds at the begin¬ 
ning of the fast and lost to one hundred and 
fourteen pounds. He reports a complete re¬ 
covery, and says that he is now strong and 
rugged. 

Mr. Williams, N. C. Age twenty-five. At 
the beginning of the fast he could scarcely be 
moved in bed, because of a severe gonorrheal 
rheumatism . His entire fast was fifty-four 
days, the first four or five days with just the 
juice of a few oranges, as were his last three 
or four days, and another similar period after 
thirty days of water. He was tall and slender 
at the beginning of the fast—weighing about 
one hundred and fifty-five pounds. During the 
fast he lost forty pounds. Before the fast was 
completed he was walking about the room and 
within a week after breaking the fast he was 
walking on the street, with one cane. Within 
204 



Fasting Cases and Expekiences 


another two weeks he was carrying the cane, 
but not using it—and he regained all his lost 
weight and ten pounds more within five weeks 
after the fast was broken. 

Baby Miller, one year old. The family 
physician diagnosed the case as typical scarlet 
fever. Three days of fast, with the faintest 
amount of orange juice in his drinking water, 
removed the symptoms so completely that his 
mother refused to believe that he had had 
scarlet fever or any other illness that might 
have been serious. I might say here that this 
is a frequent result where the natural methods 
of treatment are used—the mothers, families, 
and friends will not believe that the illnesses 
can be cured so quickly and easily! 

Miss A. A., Canada, twenty-eight years 
old. Prolapsus of the abdominal organs and a 
complete “breakdown ■" Four days of orange 
juice, twenty-five days of water only, and 
three days of orange juice again gave her an 
appetite such as she had not felt for years, and 
gave her also a real desire to live— 1 ‘long 
enough to satisfy that appetite once,” as she 
said. A strict natural regime followed this 
fast and within three months she had recovered 
205 



Fasting fok Health 


her normal superb physique, strength, and 
health and cheerfulness in every way, and is 
today (four years later) a “perfect woman.” 

M. A. M., South Carolina, sixty-eight years 
old. His trouble was gastritis, catarrhal deaf¬ 
ness and ulcerated tongue. Orange juice 
aggravated his tongue condition and he was 
obliged to take water only, which he did for 
three weeks. He then tried milk for ten days, 
with a slight return of the tongue condition, 
which had cleared up completely on the fast. 
At this time he returned to the water diet, 
which he continued for another two weeks. 
The milk diet was tried again and found satis¬ 
factory until five weeks more; then he started 
on orange juice only and continued this for 
another two weeks. From this time on he made 
rapid strides toward health and all his symp¬ 
toms left except for probably twenty-five per 
cent of his deafness (as he estimated it), which 
remained with him. 

Miss T. L. Age sixteen years, five feet, 
seven inches tall, and weighing one hundred 
and fifteen pounds. She had a decided case 
of tuberculosis of the larynx . Orange juice 
for two days, water for fifteen days and orange 
206 




Fasting Cases and Experiences 


juice again for two days, followed by the milk 
diet and later two months in the country com¬ 
pletely cleared her trouble and her voice was 
as “clear as a bell.” She also gained ten 
pounds over her original weight within the 
three months. 

P. May, Oklahoma, forty-four years old. 
Diabetes mellitus of three years standing— 
with all the symptoms and signs except boils. 
Fasted thirty-one days, first and last three or 
four days on diluted grape juice. On the six¬ 
teenth day there was no bowel action because 
there had been two the day before; on every 
day of the fast except these two there was a 
small natural bowel action of solid material. 
His strength increased gradually until the last 
of the fourth week, and then slightly fluctu¬ 
ated, at no time giving away to weakness. 
This fast was followed by the skimmed milk 
diet and all symptoms of the diabetes were 
apparently completely removed. Weight was 
below average at the beginning and reduced 
twenty-one pounds more, but was regained to 
normal within four weeks after breaking the 
fast. 

The few cases cited here must not by any 
207 



Fasting for Health 


means be considered the most successful cases; 
they have been picked merely at random from 
a large list. An effort has been made to avoid 
the spectacular; hence these cases are those 
similar to many others. 

However, I realize that each individual who 
contemplates a fast would prefer to know r of 
a case similar to his own. If we had extended 
the above list to include a hundred or several 
hundred, it is probable that we would not have 
included one that is similar to yours. I have 
thought it necessary, or advisable, at least, to 
give these few cases to show that the contents 
of the book are not based on theory only. 

Out of a wide experience with fasting, where 
hundreds of patients have fasted from twenty- 
four hours to ninety days, I have been 
able to gather the detailed information con¬ 
cerning fasts that has been presented in this 
work. No amount of theorizing would give 
one the many details that are presented here. 

As stated several times in this book, a fast 
is, without doubt, one of the greatest, if not 
the greatest individual or single factor of heal¬ 
ing known to any system of treatment. And 
even though your case may be such as to pre- 
208 



Fasting Cases and Experiences 


sent no symptom of any of the above cited 
cases, if it is susceptible to cure at all, or to 
relief, the fast will probably do more toward 
establishing that cure or relief than any other 
single procedure of treatment. 

If after you have read this volume you are 
convinced that the fast will be of value to you, 
do not hesitate to take it—according to sug¬ 
gestions given, of course —even though there 
may never have been a similar case treated by 
the fast. 

The value of this treatment and its manner 
of application have been explained so that, 
even though there has been no precedent of a 
similar case successfully treated, you will be 
enabled to conduct the fast in such a manner 
as to make it not only effective but perfectly 
safe. 

I may be unduly enthusiastic about the fast, 
but I do not believe so. I recall too many 
instances where it has been instrumental in 
restoring health to doubt its efficacy in all but 
rare cases. 

You may have your physician if you choose; 
you may rely exclusively upon his prescrip¬ 
tion or treatment if you see fit; or you may 
209 



Fasting for Health 


have him supervise your fasting if you desire 
(providing you can find one who looks favor- 
ably upon the fast) ; but in the fast you have 
the kindest, most valuable and most effective 
physician you could possibly choose—providing 
of course, that your case is not one of the few 
in which the fast will be ineffective. 

But from previous experience of myself and 
others, it is practically certain that where the 
fast will be unproductive of satisfactory im¬ 
provement (when taken in connection with 
other natural factors of treatment) no other 
system or mode of treatment is likely to make 
a more agreeable and desired change for the 
better. 

I must urge again that the theory of the 
fast must be carefully understood by those who 
contemplate a fast. Proper preparation must 
be made, and the fast must be conducted in 
such a way that it may produce its greatest 
beneficial effects. All these have been pre¬ 
sented in such a manner in this volume that 
any one who reads it may understand. 

I am not claiming the fast to be a cure-all; 
but I believe that when it is taken in the proper 
manner and with the proper associated treat- 
210 




Fasting Cases and Experiences 


ment, and concluded successfully—probably 
by the milk diet—in the majority of cases it 
will come nearer being that cure-all than any¬ 
thing we have at present, or will develop in 
the future. For it is strictly in accordance 
with natural law, and no one can ever devise 
any means that will supersede or overshadow 
natural law. 

I commend the book and the subject of its 
contents—the fast—to you who would restore 
the body to as nearly normal functioning as 
possible, and develop a high degree of health 
and immunity to disease in the future. 


[The End] 


211 



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